Halfway to Crazy
by FoxyRogue
Summary: Tired of all the lies and games, Em leaves her old life behind for a fresh start. But what she finds is more than she bargained for
1. Chapter 1

A new start

Em pulled up to her new house and put her sunglasses on. She looked at her younger brother Matt, he was only fifteen. After their last day of school, the two got into Em's car and drove. They drove all the way to Tulsa, Oklahoma from their home in Little Rock, Arkansas, to move in with their older brother Erick. She didn't want to move, it wasn't her idea. It was Matt's. He had called Erick and told him about the things that had happened between Em and their dad, and that was enough for him. Matt had wanted to move in with Erick since there mom had died about a year ago. That was when things with their dad had started to get real bad. Em knew she couldn't stay with their dad by herself, that would just make it worse, but at the same time, she didn't really want to leave him. She told Matt that they would wait till school was done for the year, then they could move. He seemed happy with that compromise.

She messed up Mat's hair, "We're here buddy," She said as she stepped out of the car. She looked at the house, taking in the sight.

It was then that Erick came out to greet them. Em smiled at Erick. He was their half brother, they had the same mother. Erick looked like his dad, and not so much like her and Matt. He was 6'1 with short black hair and pale blue eyes. He always looked tough if you didn't know him but his eyes always gave him away. He was only twenty-four. He had been living on his own out in Tulsa for a few years now.

By the time Erick had made it over to the car, Matt had already started to get his stuff out of the back seat. Em just watched him. Matt looked like their dad. He had red hair and green eyes. He has 5'5 which wasn't really short, but he still had some growing to do. Em smiled to herself. Matt was nice and sweet with all that they had been though the last year, she was glad that Matt was still the same. He was always smiling just like their mom always had. Erick walked up to Em and gave her a hug. He was smiling. Em put on a fake smile and looked up at him.

"So Em did you pass?" He asked looking her over.

She was seventeen she would be turning eighteen in just a few weeks Em looked like their mom. She was 5'6, and her hair came down to her shoulders. It was dirty blonde. She had the same pale blue eyes as Erick, but M had her dad's temper and knew how to use it. "You know it," She replied happily. She was rather happy to be done high school forever.

She looked around. The house wasn't bad, but it just wasn't home to her yet. It would take a while. Erick knew that she didn't want to move and that she wasn't happy about it. He sighed, "Emily, it is much better then living with Raymond after what he pulled," Erick said knowing that she wasn't to happy about this whole thing.

Em looked at him, and stuck her tongue out at him. She said nothing as she reached in to the back seat and grabbed a box before starting toward the house.

Matt looked at Erick as he helped him carry his stuff inside. "Thanks Erick " Matt stated with a smile. He stood in the front yard looking up at the house. He was happy to be starting over somewhere new.

Erick looked down at Matt and smiled patting him on the shoulder. "No problem Mattie," Erick replied returning the smile. Mattie was the nick name that only Erick and M were allowed to used.

Erick and Matt had walked in the house. Matt put down his things and Erick took some time to show him around the house. Em had walked back outside after dropping her things down on the living room floor. Erick watched her from the window as she picked up another box. He frowned. She looked unhappy. He didn't like that.

"She is happy to be here, even if she doesn't show it Erick, " Matt said as he saw the slight change in Erick's eyes.

He nodded, not looking away from his sister, "I know Mattie, I know."

Em got the rest of her stuff from the car, and walked up the stairs. She stopped when saw there that there was only two bedrooms. One was obviously Erick's, and the other was empty except for a bed. She stormed back down stairs, stopping at the last step. She looked over at Erick who was still standing in the living room. "I'm not sharing a room with Mattie I'm to old for that Erick," She spat glaring at her older brother.

Erick looked at her for a couple of seconds, thinking. "Follow me M's," He stated gesturing her to follow him as he walked in to the dining room. She snorted, but followed him all the same. He stopped by a closed door. He opened the door and showed her the large room behind the wood. " I don't use it," He stated with a shrug. "It's supposed to be the den, but I thought you'd get more use out of it. And its down here. Matt and I will be up stairs, so you'll have some space, and your own bathroom " He replied stuffing his hands in his jean pockets awkwardly.

Em smiled, a real smile. The first real smile, since she had arrived in Tulsa. She threw her arms around Erick hugging him tightly. "Oh my god Erick, this is so awesome!" She cried, letting go of Erick. She then walked into the large room. She looked around it was a huge. Much bigger than her old room. It had two doors, one from the dinning room and the other lead to the kitchen. There were two window's as well. One looked out over the side of the house, and the other to the backyard. There was a bed pushed up against the wall, the mattress sitting on the floor. It hadn't been in there very long.

Matt walked into the room to see what all the fuss was about, and looked around the room. "Why dose she get the biggest room?" He asked still looking around, a scowl on his face.

"Because I'm older, and I'm a girl that's why Mattie," She replied, still smiling. "Besides, its not that big," M added with a shrug. "Now get out! I have to unpack my stuff." She said shooing them from her new room.

Erick smirked and shook his head, "Whatever you say Em's."

* * *

><p>Once Em was done unpacking they few things she brought with her, she went out to the front yard where Matt and Erick where playing catch. Em walked to her car and grabbed her smokes, she had started smoking just after their mom died. It helped her relax. She sat down on the hood and lit one up.<p>

Erick looked at her, spotting the cigarette out of the counter of his eye. "Em's put that out," He barked at her.

She smirked at him, flicking it. "Why Erick? You smoke," She said as he threw the ball to Matt.

"I'm not a gymnast that's why, " He replied catching the ball and putting it down. He walked over to her, holding his hand out, "Give it to me Em."

Em looked him right in the eyes, pushing his hand away, "Well that makes two of us. I don't do that anymore, " She replied hopping off the hood of the car, and heading back towards the house.

Erick looked at Matt, who just shrugged. "She really quit?" He asked in disbelief. Matt nodded. Erick followed his sister, grabbing her arm to keep her from heading into the house. "Why? You were so good at it, and you loved it," He asked her as she turned her back to him.

She sighed looking at her car, refusing to look at her brother." I can't Erick. My arm isn't strong enough yet. The pin's only came out a week ago." She said as she turned towards him. She held up her right arm and pointed to the scar that was left behind.

He sighed, "Fine," He said in defeat picking the ball back up and going back to playing catch with Matt.

Em smiled she knew she had won that fight. She always did.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure you guys will be fine while I'm gone?" Erick asked, pacing around the living room as he was getting ready for work.<p>

Matt looked up at him, "Yeah we'll be fine," He stated rolling his eyes.

"Yeah what the worst thing that could happen?" Em added to Matt's answer. Sometimes Erick worried way too much. "Besides, it's not like we know anyone around here anyway. How much trouble can we get into?" Em stated as she pushed Erick out the door.

"Knowing you Em's, anything is possible," He retorted turning around to look at her.

She put her hand on her heart, and pretended to look hurt, "That hurts you know."

He rolled his eyes, ignoring her comment, "Are you sure you don't want me to stay? I always can..."

Erick didn't even get to finish what his sentence before Em cut him off, "We will be fine Erick," She replied with a smile. "Go to work."

He smiled back at her, "OK, but be careful and please don't break anything well I'm gone," Erick replied walking towards his car, which was parked at the curb.

"No promises!" She yelled after him, waving goodbye.

He shook his head getting in to his car. He turned it on, and looked at Em's car. He rolled the window down, "Hey Em's park your car in the garage before it gets dark, or else you might not have a car come morning," He ordered.

"Yes sir," she said replied giving him a mock salute. He shook his head driving away as Em was laughing at herself for her creativity. With that, Erick drove off leaving the two teens by themselves.

Later on, Em was sitting outside with Matt looking at the sunset. Erick had been gone and hour and they were already bored out of their minds. Tulsa sure was a boring town. "OK Matt this is sad," She stated standing up on the front steps. "Its Saturday night and we're here alone sitting at home like a couple a losers," She continued crossing her arms over her chest. "I say we should go out," She concluded as she jumped up.

Matt smiled. He knew that look on Em's face all too well. She turned to face him, a mischievous grin on her face. She then did a back flip off of the step. Her landing was perfect, and then she did a one handed cartwheel with her left arm. Matt smiled he knew what she wanted. She wanted to see if he could try to beat her. "Alright then," He said with a smirk as got up. He did a front flip off of the step and then a cartwheel.

She laughed as she clapped her hands together,"Nice Mattie," She said walking over and ruffling his hair. "Just watch your feet next time and you'll get the landing just right."

He smiled. Even when his sister was unhappy, she was still fun. "Thanks sis," He replied fixing his now messed up hair.

She nodded, gesturing over her shoulder to her car, "Lets go."

They drove around for a bit, exploring their new home. Em had the radio turned up loud, with the top of her car pulled down. After about twenty minutes, they spotted a diner and pulled into the parking lot. They hadn't eaten since they had left home that morning, and Em knew she was starving. She guessed that Matt was too.

"The Dingo "Matt said reading the sign. He wrinkled his nose, "That's a stupid name."

Em looked up at it as well. "Well I'm hungry and this was all I could find Mattie," She replied stopping the car. "Deal with it."

Matt sighed, but got out of the car. Em rolled her eyes and reached into the back seat grabbing her leather coat. It was a little cold out. It was June and she loved the warms of summer, but it was still cold enough to need a jacket. She looked around and decided that with her red leather mini skirt, the black leather would help her blend in much better. She then got out, and pulled her sunglasses off. She pulled a silver flask from her pocket and took a sip.

Matt looked at her, a shocked look on his face, "Em!" He cried.

"Do you want some?" She asked handing it to him.

He scrunched his nose up in discuss, "No thanks," He spat shaking his head. "What is it?" He asked pushing it away.

"It the last of dad's rum. I took it before we took off this morning," She explained offering the flask to him again.

He sighed and took a small sip. A disgusted look came over his face, "Ew," was all he said as he handed it back to her.

She laughed as she put it back in her pocket. She patted him on the back, "C'mon Mattie, it ain't that bad."

He looked at her as if she had two head, "Maybe in your world it's not."

She chuckled wrapping an arm around his shoulders, and leading them into the diner. They found a booth rather quickly, and ordered something to eat. Matt didn't like big crowds, he always felt awkward 'cause he was usually the smallest. He took to playing with the napkin dispenser.

Em looked at him, a concerned look on her face. She put her hand on top of his, " You okay Mattie?" She quietly asked him.

He didn't even look up at her. He simply just kept looking at the napkin dispenser, "I'm fine Em's I just don't like be around a lot of people," He explained looking around nervously.

She sighed, "I know Matt," She stated looking around at the many people hanging around. An idea struck her, "Hey once we are done here, we'll go home and you can unpack your running stuff," She stated trying to get him to cheer up and look at her. She hated it when he refused to make eye contact.

He finally looked at her and smiled, "It's to dark to go for a run. But thanks anyway Em's," He replied looking back down at the dispenser.

"Oh come on Mattie! I saw a park on the way here. I'll park my car and leave the headlights on so you can run," She suggested enthusiastically.

Matt just smiled at her. Matt loved to run. He always had. He had been on the track team at their last school, and he did really well. He was really good at the long jump as well. This made Em think about all the support they gotten from their mom. It just cemented the fact that now she was gone, and it was hard on them both. They were rather close to their mother. Especially Em. "Thanks Em's you're the best," Matt stated after a couple moments of silence. He looked up at her and smiled.

She couldn't help but smile back. She reached over and ruffled his hair again, ignoring his glare. She looked around she saw the jute box at the back of the diner. Her face lit up,"I'll be tight back Mattie. I am going to change the song," She stated in a sing song voice.

"Sure sis," Matt replied with a nod as she walked away, a small swagger in her step.

She got to the jute box and looked through the songs. She loved music, always had. Dancing was another thing she loved. It seemed to come hand in hand with her gymnastics. She hummed to herself as she was trying to decide on a song. While she was doing this, someone walked up behind her. She sensed someone's eyes on her and she turned to look at the culprit. A boy, not too much older than herself, stood there. He had dark hair and dark eyes. A hideous and jagged scar that ran from his temple down to his chin. She couldn't help but wince at the sight. He kind of reminded her of an alley cat. He had a lithe body, and a certain fire in his eyes. He shot a smirk in her direction.

She just rolled her eyes. She wasn't in the mood for small talk, "Can I help you with something?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Aww come on baby, don't be like that," He stated, that smirk never leaving his face.

She snorted, "Back away hood. I ain't interested in trash like you," She replied jutting her hip out to the side. Sometimes, Em had a real attitude problem. It tended to get her in trouble.

"Feisty huh? I like that," He replied, reaching out and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Why don't you and I blow this joint and find a more private place," He suggested as his eyes ran over her body.

She snorted, shrugging his hand off of her, "In your dream buddy," She replied, feeling her blood begin to boil. The nerve of this guy. When E would get mad, her eyes changed from a pale blue to a cold and icy blue. She always thought it made her look intimidating.

He chuckled, "That's a good one," He retorted running a hand down his slicked back hair.

He was so greasy it made her want to hurl. "Just screw off," She spat turning to walk away.

However, he took it too far when he reached out, taking hold of her wrist and pulling her back. "Hey, I ain't done talkin' to you yet," He spat glaring at her.

She glared back, "Well I am done talking to you," She nearly yelled ripping her hand from his grip. "And don't you touch me again creep!"

"Why you stupid little..."

Before he could say another word, someone else had come up behind her. "Leave her alone Shepard," A female voice stated cutting him off. Em turned, shocked to see a small girl behind her. She wasn't small as in young, she was just built small. A little shorter than Em, but well developed in other areas. Her hair was long, and very blonde and her eyes were a light shade of brown. Her skirt was short, and her shirt rather revealing. She didn't wear a coat. "She doesn't want to talk to you," She continued crossing her arms over her chest as well.

He snorted at this, "And what if I don't stop Kathy? What on earth are you going to do about it?" He snapped in reply, turning his angry stare to the other girl.

"Don't make me go get Two-Bit," She said, raising an eyebrow at him.

Em was watching Kathy, but she was getting tried of this game. Instead, she turned and punched Tim square in the jaw. A shocked look appeared on his face as he stumbled back a couple of steps. He shook his head, a look of rage taking over his face. He looked right at Em, "You're gonna to get it now you stupid broad!" He cried raising his hand getting ready to hit her back.

She scoffed, "I'd love to see you try," Em spat back at him, with just as much anger and hatred.

Kathy stepped in between them,"C'mon Tim, leave her alone. Don't you think you've have had enough for one night?" She snapped, glaring at the much taller man.

Tim dropped his hand. He glared at Em one last time before snorting and turning around. He walked away without another word, leaving Em and Kathy standing there by themselves. Kathy then turned to look at Em,"Well that was sure a show now wasn't it?" She stated, letting out a sharp breath. "That was very brave of you," Kathy said relaxing a little bit. She seemed very friendly. Maybe a bit overly friendly.

Em looked at her confused, "What? No one here has ever punched that guy before?" She asked a bit unsure of where this was going.

She shrugged, "Oh he has plenty of times, but not quite like that before," She began running a hand through her hair. "I mean, he got that scar on his face from some tramp belting him with a bottle, but that's different," She continued to ramble on.

Em snorted, "She should have done a lot more to him than that stupid scar," She spat glaring after him.

Kathy scoffed, "Don't you know who that is?"Kathy asked, twirling her hair around her finger absentmindedly.

Em just shrugged, "No. Why? Should I?" She asked looking a little lost about the whole situation.

"That was Tim Shepard," She explained like it should have great meaning to it. Em didn't see it that way. "Not very many people would have done what you did. None have the guts," She continued babbling.

Em smirked to herself. She knew for a facted that she had one hell of a right hook. Erick had always told her so. "Well I guess I'm special that way then," She replied resting her hands on her hips.

Kathy smiled holding out her hand, "I'm Kathy by the way," She added with a bright smile.

Em shook her hand, "I'm Emily but everyone just calls me Em. Thanks for that by the way. I Don't know what I would have done if he had hit me back," She replied letting out a small sigh of relief. A bruise would be hard to explain to Erick.

"No problem," She replied patting her on the shoulder. "So how did you learn to punch like that anyway?" She asked as Em began to walk back towards the table. She followed, happily, a small skip in her step.

"Oh my big brother Erick thought I should learn how to fight when I was younger. You know, just in case of assholes like that," She explained sitting back down across from Matt. She had noticed Matt watching the whole scene, but he said nothing. Em also realized that there food had arrived.

She turned back to Kathy who had stopped at the table. She stood beside it kind of awkwardly. " Kathy this is my little brother Matt," She introduced, gesturing towards him.

Matt just nodded picking up his burger,"Em's what did you do that for? I mean he could have hit you back," He piped up, lifting the top and checking for pickles. Matt was always a worry wort. He worried too much about Em. She never thought things though all the way, and got herself into trouble about nine times out of ten.

Em smiled at him, pulling her drink towards her, " I don't know Mattie. I can handle my self," She replied taking a sip.

"I know Em's, but still," He replied.

Em smiled gesturing for Kathy to sit down. She had been standing there awkwardly, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet. The movement was annoying. She smiled and sat down beside Em without a word. She felt it would have been impolite to interrupt. "I could have done a back flip if he tried to hit me," She piped up grabbing the pickle from Matt's burger. He hated pickles.

Matt looked at her, wrinkling his nose in distaste, "I guess. Too bad you couldn't have used some of your gymnast moves on him," He added with a smile.

Em chuckled, reaching over and ruffling his hair again. He just glared at her before fixing it. Kathy looked between them watching the whole thing. She then turned to Em," So your a gymnast?" She asked curiously.

Em nodded in response," I use to be, but I don't do that anymore," She replied wanting to change the subject.

"Yeah, she was really good!" Mattie cried, with his mouth full. "She was so good she got this scholarship and everything! If she hadn't broken her arm..." was all Matt was able to say before he was rudely cut off.

Em threw a french fry at him. It hit him on the nose. "Can it ginger," Em stated pointing her finger at him. Her voice was flat, and her eyes were once again turning to an icy blue.

Matt knew not to push his luck with Em but he couldn't stop himself this time. "Oh come on Em's. You were really good at it," He argued.

"I said can it ginger," She said again, throwing another fry at him.

Matt sighed, but stopped. He pouted, "Fine. But I hate it when you call me ginger."

Em smiled at her brother,"Then don't piss me off," She stated simple.

With that being said, Kathy started to laugh, "I fight with my brother like that all the time," she piped up between her laughter. Em couldn't help but laugh with her.

Once they had stopped laughing, they all started talking. Em took another sip of her drink, "So who is this guy Two-Bit, you were talking about?" She asked turning to look at Kathy.

She smiled, "Two-Bit is my boyfriend," She began happily. "He's a really funny guy. He's always telling jokes and getting you to laugh when you don't really want to. He drinks a lot, but it just seems to make him that much funnier," She explained stealing one of Em's french fries. "It's actually really hard to tell if he's drunk or not 'cause he gets drunk on life too."

Em nodded, "Interesting."

Matt had grew bored of the topic. Kathy was a chatterbox, and it got on his nerves. Once she had finished talking, he stole one of Em's fries. "Hey Em's, can we go back home now? I want to finish unpacking," He asked finishing off the last of his food.

Em looked at Matt as he spoke. She nodded,"Sure thing buddy," She replied wiping her face with a napkin. "Hey Kathy I'll see you later OK," She stated standing up, and pulling some money from her pocket.

Kathy smiled,"Sure Em. We should hang out sometime. Could be fun."

Em laughed, "Yeah, that would be fun."

"Yeah, maybe next time you can meet Two-Bit," She continued standing up as well.

"Yeah that would be a riot," was Em's response as she slid out of the booth.

Kathy grinned, "Great!" She cried happily. "Catch ya later, I gotta go find my man," She said in a sing song way as she walked away from them.

Em laughed, "Bye Kathy," She called after her, waving. Kathy waved back, and left the diner.

With that, Em and Matt paid their bill and walked out to the car.

* * *

><p>They had just gotten back to the house from the park, and Em was bored once again. She was never one to simply stay at home. She needed excitement. So she went outside. On a whim, she decided to work on her back flip. After a few minutes, she stopped and went to get her smokes from the car. She opened the package to take one, but found that there weren't any left. She sighed and walked back into the house. Matt was sitting on the couch watching TV. He was tired from his run.<p>

"Hey Mattie, I'm going get a some smoke's do you want anything?" She asked him as she grabbed her car keys from the table.

"Just a bottle of coke Em's," He replied not looking away from the TV screen.

She nodded, "Sure thing." She replied while rubbing her right arm. It was a habit she had started doing after the case had come off. It felt weird. She left the house without another word.

Em had been driving around for a bit, when she pulled in to a gas station. It was getting close to ten and she was glad it was still open. She got out and walked into the small convenience store. She grabbed Matt's a coke first, and then walked up to the counter. She looked at the guy at the counter. He was tall with greasy hair combed into complicated swirls. He didn't look to happy to be there. She didn't blame him.

She put the coke on the counter, "A pack of your cheapest smokes please,"She asked digging in her pocket for some money. He didn't say much, and she paid for her things. As was walking out, he said something to her. It was kind of mumbled so she didn't quite hear him. She turned back around,"What?" She asked curiously.

"Tuff car," He repeated nodding towards her car.

"Oh," She stated in surprise. She smiled none the less, "Thanks," She replied as she walked out of the store.

She looked at her car, and swelled with pride. She really liked it. It was red convertible mustang. Her dad given to her after he had broke her arm a few months ago. She wouldn't have taken it, but she need a way to get Matt and herself to Tulsa. So she took it without too much thought. Em drove back home, and remembered to put her car in the garage. She closed the door and went into the house, ready to turn in for the night.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer i own nothing but Em,Matt ,Erick and Claire so far

Birthday smash

Before Em knew it, two weeks had passed. She had been spending a lot of time with Kathy, and they were quickly becoming close friends. But Em was still unhappy about moving. The upside was that it was finally her birthday. She was now eighteen years old.

Erick had been thinking about her birthday a lot over the last few days. He wanted it to be special, and had taken many steps to make sure it would be. His sister was the first thing on his mind as he got out of bed that morning. He had woken up at 6 am, and he slowly made his way downstairs to the kitchen. Erick rarely woke up before eight, but today was a special occasion so he made an exception. However, he was surprised when he found Matt downstairs eating pizza. Matt was rarely up before him.

"Pizza for breakfast Mattie?" Erick asked raising a questioning eyebrow at his younger brother.

Matt was dressed in his running gear, obviously preparing for a morning run. He nodded enthusiastically. He seemed to be in a good mood. "Yep," He replied. "Its fast and easy. Besides I didn't want to wake Em to make me some food," He explained taking another bit out of his pizza.

The kid had a point. Erick nodded in understanding."Good point there," He stated pouring himself a glass of milk. "Besides kid I kind of like having you around, and you and I both know that if Em woke up before noon, on her birthday, or any day for that matter, she would kill you," Erick said as he grabbed a slice of pizza from the cardboard box.

Matt chuckled, "Don't I know it."

Erick took a bite of the pizza and ruffled Matt's hair. "Okay kiddo, I have to go and pick up Claire. We should be back by three," He began grabbing his keys from the hook by the back door. "When Em wakes up, don't let her in the back yard. Wait till I get back," Erick explained grabbing his coat from the closet. It wasn't that cold out, but you never know.

Matt nodded giving his brother a thumbs up, "Will do!" He exclaimed as Erick walked out the door.

Claire was Em's best friend. The two girls had been friends for as long as Matt could remember. He liked Clair. She had never treated him like a kid, and was always nice to him. He couldn't remember her ever bring mean. He was sure Em would be happy to see her. The two hadn't seen each other since Matt and Em had moved. Matt went for a quick run around the neighborhood, enjoying the cool morning air. Matt was sure that if Claire stuck around for a bit, Em would go back to being his sister. The happy, without a care in the world sister that he dearly missed. Em had changed a lot since they moved to Tulsa. She was drinking and swearing a lot more, as well as spending more time alone. He was almost certain that Claire would bring Em around. She was the only one who could make her see that this place wasn't all that bad .

When Matt got back from his run, he decided to make Em a cake after all. He had considered making her one before, but almost changed his mind when he realized that he didn't really know how. '_How hard could it be? Besides, what's a birthday without cake_,' he thought pulling the mixing bowl out of the cupboard. Now Matt knew he wasn't much of a cook, but he also knew it was the thought that counted. Em would appreciate it.

He didn't want to make to much noise. He didn't want to risk Em's wrath if he woke her up. Preparing the batter was easy, all you had to do was read the instructions on the box. Everything was going good, but he was doomed for failure. Unfortunately, he dropped the mixing bowl on the floor as he was trying to pour the batter into the baking pan. Both the bowl and the baking pan hit the floor with a loud crash, spilling the batter all over the kitchen floor.

"Fucking hell!" Matt cursed quietly grabbing a tea towel from the counter. He knelt down on the floor trying to to clean up the mess he just made with the tea towel. It wasn't working so well.

Em walked out of her room, her blanket still wrapped around her. She wiped her eyes with one hand and looked at the mess. "What are you trying to do Mattie?" She asked with a yawn. It was too early for this stuff.

Matt jumped back up to his feet at the sound of her voice. His face was beet red from embarrassment."I was trying to make you a cake but I didn't work so well," Matt didn't even look at her he just kept on trying to clean.

Em couldn't help but laugh at him. It was the funniest thing she had seen her little brother do in a long time. "Well it was a nice thought. Thanks Mattie," She replied with an amused smile. She watched him attempt to clean the batter up with the rag for a few moments before rolling her eyes and dropping to her knees beside him. "Here, let me help," She said taking the rag from him.

Matt turned to her, a thankful smile on his face, "Thanks Em's."

Once the two cleaned the mess up, Em picked her blanket up off the floor and hung it on one of the kitchen chairs. Em then walked over to the fridge and pulled out the eggs and turned to look at her brother,"So Mattie, have you eaten anything yet?" She asked grabbing a pan from cupboard and putting it on the stove.

Matt looked at the clock. It was now nine thirty, and it had been a while since he had eaten. His stomach growled slightly. "I had some pizza when I woke up around six, but I'm still hungry," He replied sheepishly.

Em smiled and shook her head, "Man it's ridiculous how you have to get up so early," She remarked cracking the eggs on the side of the pan.

He shrugged, "Early morning is the best time to run."

She shook her head rolling her eyes, "Whatever you say."

"Oh and by the way, Happy Birthday sis," He remarked sitting down at the kitchen table.

She couldn't help but smile at him, "Thanks kiddo," She replied tucking her hair behind her ears. The two teens fell into silence as she was cooking. She hummed quietly to herself, looking out the window into the backyard. She tilted her head curiously as she noticed a tarp covering something near the edge of the yard. "Hey Matt, what's that outside?" She asked putting the eggs on a plate.

Matt got up from his seat at the table and looked out the window with her."Oh, that's nothing," He began turning away from the window and heading back to the table. "It's just something Erick was working on," He explained.

Em looked at him, raising an eyebrow. He look away making sure that she couldn't see his face. He didn't want to give it away. She watched him and a evil grin spread out on her face. He was definitely hiding something from her. She put the plate in front of her brother before heading towards the back door.

"No!" Matt cried running in front of her, and blocking her way to the door. "No Em, you cant go out there," He stated firmly.

Em rolled her eyes, "Come on Mattie, you can't expect me to ignore it now that I know it's there," She whined, resting her one hand on her hip.

He shook his head, "No. Not till Erick gets back," He replied refusing to step out of the way.

She groaned in annoyance. Sometimes, Em could be very childish, "Where is the fun in waiting?" She asked. "I'm only go to take a little peek, he wont even know," she argued trying to push him out of the way.

"Don't you dare! Erick will be so pissed if he finds out you peeked," He cried.

Em let out an annoyed sigh,"Fine. I'll be good, for now," She stated picking up her own plate from the counter and walking over to the table. Matt let out a sigh of relief and followed his sister to the table. He sat down picking up his fork. The two ate in silence for a while."So where is Erick anyway Mattie? I thought he booked today off so he could spend time with me on my birthday?" She asked shoving some of her eggs in her mouth.

Matt looked up from his plate, swallowing the food he had in his mouth." Oh Erick?," He replied looking up at his sister.

She eyed him suspiciously before leaning back against her chair. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Yes Erick. You know, our brother?"

Matt swallowed loudly, "Oh he umm went to... work? They called him in," He thought quickly, but stumbled over his thoughts. "He told me to tell you he was sorry Em's," Matt hoped Em would fall for the lie. However, he wasn't very convincing. Matt had always been a terrible liar.

Em rolled her eyes. He was way to obvious sometimes. He could never think quick enough. "Sure Mattie, I'm sure they did. If your not going to tell then fine," Em stated that evil grin creeping back onto her face as she spoke. She knew Erick was doing something for her birthday. Why else would Matt try to lie to her, and keep her from going into the backyard?

* * *

><p>Hours later, Em had gotten dressed in her favorite jeans and red tank top. She mainly wore it just because she knew it would piss Erick off. The fabric didn't quite cover her belly, and it had a nice 'v' neck line which showed off just the right amount of cleavage. She looked her self over in her mirror and she smiled. She looked good. Since she had nothing else to do with most of her time, she really enjoyed making Erick freak out over what she wore. He still thought of her like she was twelve. He never liked the idea that she wasn't his baby sister anymore. It didn't help that she just loved pissing him off. She looked at her clock. It was quarter to three and Erick would be home soon. He would pay for going into work on her birthday. She decided on putting on her black knee high boots. That would make him flip his lid. She smiled, satisfied by with her appearance. She walked out of her room and all of a sudden, she was swept up into a hug. It took Em by surprise. It wasn't until the person let go did she realize who it was.<p>

Em couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. "Oh my god!" She cried holding the other girl an arms length away. "Claire what are you doing here?" She asked excitedly. Em was so happy to see Clare. She really needed someone from her old life, as Em liked to put it.

Claire shared Em's grin, but hers was much wider," Come on Em's, I couldn't let you spend your eighteenth birthday all by your self!" Claire exclaimed enthusiastically. "Besides, what kind of best friend would I be if I let that happen?" She stated with a slight roll of her eyes. Claire always new the best thing to say to make Em smile.

Em looked at Claire. Even though they lived far away, they still managed to dress a like. She had the same boots on, but instead of jeans she wore a black mini skirt. She also wore a red tank top with a black leather jacket to top it all off. Claire was very pretty. She had long black hair. It was real long. So long that it reached the middle of her back. Here eyes were a deep shade of brown. Also, Em couldn't remember a time when Claire didn't wear her trademark dark red lipstick. Claire was truly a unique person. That fact was probably what made the two girls such close friends.

"Hey Em's, I got another surprise for you," Erick stated, gesturing for his little sister to follow him.

Em smiled bounding after her brother, "What is it?" She asked as she followed him through the kitchen.

He chuckled, "You'll see."

He opened the back door and walked into the back yard. Em and Claire followed close on his heels. He walked straight to the edge of the yard next to the tarp. Em watched curiously as he pulled off the tarp, revealing the balance beam the had been hidden beneath the plastic. Em's eyes lit up, and she smiled so wide, Erick was sure her face would split open. It had been a long time since he had seen that look on his sister's face.

She squealed in excitement, running up and hugging her brother tightly. "Thank you so much Erick!"

Erick chuckled, hugging her back."Don't mention it," He replied letting her go. He ruffled her hair. She glared at him, smoothing it back out. He chuckled again "Happy birthday little sis."

Em looked up at him, narrowing her eyes slightly and cocking an eyebrow up. She crossed her arms over her chest, "Do I look little to you Erick?" She spat with a frown.

Erick just rubbed her last remark off, "You'll always be little to me Em's," He replied running a hand through his black hair.

She continued to glare at him, her eyes changing to a clear icy blue. She hated it when Erick treated her like a kid. She wasn't a kid. Claire noticed the change in her friend and rolled her eyes. Em could be so over dramatic. She nudged Em with her elbow, letting her know that she was being a brat. Em turned and glared at her friend, but put on a fake smile. She walked over to the balance beam. She put her hands on the wood, pushing down testing how sturdy the beam was. It didn't move, so she deemed it safe. She sat on the stump next to the bean, pulling off her boots, with little effort. She took a unsure step, testing her weight on the beam. When it didn't shift she put her whole weight on it, stepping onto the beam. She smiled and did a back flip. She quickly followed it with a front flip. She watched her footing the whole time she did so. Her siblings and Clarie applauded as she did so. Em couldn't help but smirk. She knew that she still had it in her. She did a front flip to get down off the beam and sat back down on the stump. She pulled her boots back on, smiling up at Erick as she did so. It was the best gift he could have given her. The smug look on his face, let her know that knew that.

Erick smiled at her, "Well Em's? What do you think?" He asked, that smug look never leaving his face.

She smiled back, "It's perfect Erick, thanks," She replied standing up and brushing off the seat of her jeans.

He nodded knowing, accepting her simple answer. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, "So, Matt and I are going out, to give you girl's some time alone," Erick stated turning to look at his younger brother.

"Finally!" Clarie exclaimed throwing her hands up in the air. "Its about frickin' time Erick!" She continued dramatically. "I haven't seen my Em's in weeks, and I need to fill her in on the things she's been missin'," Claire stated looping her arm around Em's. Claire had always been very energetic.

Erick just shook his head, a smile spreading across his lips. "C'mon Mattie," He mumbled turning and heading towards the door.

Matt looked between his sister and his brother and shrugged. "See ya later Em!" He cried quickly turning and following his brother inside.

Em could help but laugh at the two. They were ridiculous. Claire laughed tossing her hair over her shoulder, "Come on Em's, you need to let me do something with that hair of yours," She stated pulling her towards the house.

Em chuckled, "Don't you always?"

* * *

><p>A couple hours after Matt and Erick had left, Em and Claire had finished towing with Em's hair. After much debate they decided to just leave it. Mostly because Em didn't want to deal with Claire's girlishness. She really didn't care all that much what her hair looked like. The two girl's were just relaxing out side, leaning up against Em's car. They had a bottle of vodka between them. Claire held it tightly, not really wanting to share but knew that she had too. It wouldn't be her birthday if they didn't get wasted. Em was preoccupied with lighting a cigarette when Clarie began to repeatedly poke her shoulder. She turned, shoot a glare at her best friend.<p>

"Look over there!" Claire exclaimed quietly as she pointed next door.

Em sighed and followed her line of sight. She looked and saw three guys standing on the front step of the house next door. She rolled her eyes. Claire was always looking at boys. She pulled the smoke from her lips and placed it behind her ear before really checking them out. After she finished looking them over, she turned back to Claire. She shrugged, "They ain't bad," Em replied as she took the bottle of vodka from Claire.

Claire frowned, but gave her a knowing look, "Guess who has being asking about you back home Em's," She stated watching as Em took a swig from the bottle.

Em wiped the moisture off her lips, "Who?" was all Em had to say. She really didn't care, but pretended for Clarie's sake.

"Tommy," Claire stated with a smirk taking the bottle back.

Em raised an eyebrow at Claire. Why would Tommy be asking about her? They had been over for three months now. She couldn't help but groan inwardly. She knew it couldn't be good if Tommy had asked Claire about her. She shrugged it off as if it didn't bother her, "What did he want this time?" She asked still tossing ideas over in her head.

"Well Em's, he wanted me to tell you that he misses you," Clare explained before taking a sip from the bottle. She wrinkled her nose as the taste.

Em frowned. She had been over Tommy for well over a month now, and didn't care all that much about him anymore. She shrugged pulling the cigarette from her ear,"Well he can shove it up his ass," She exclaimed taking the bottle back.

Clarie put on a fake, shocked look. "Emily Thomas! You two were always smiling and you guys were happy as far as I could tell," She stated crossing her arms over her chest.

Em looked at her, raising her eyebrow again. She handed her friend back the bottle."Happy? you call drinking and passing out all the time happy?" She asked placing the cigarette between her lips, "I don't ever want to see him again as long as I live, and I mean it this time," She stated firmly.

Claire looked at Em and saw the determination in them. She knew that Em truly meant it. Claire sighed and was about to open her month when a noise from next door attracted her attention. Em and Claire couldn't help but look over. The three boys seemed to have grown bolder and were being louder than they had before. Em recognized one of them. It was the guy she had talked to in the Dx about two weeks ago. He was standing on the hood of a car, as the others egged him on about something. After a few moments, he surprised her and did a back flip off of the hood of the car.

She watched his footing and shook her head. It was all wrong. "Fail!" Em yelled out as he hit the ground, landing on his ass.

He quickly stood up, brushing himself off as the other boy laughed loudly at the boy's clumsiness. He glared at her and walked over to the fence. "I'd like to see you do better," He challenged as he raised a eyebrow at her.

Em took a sip of the vodka and handed Clarie her unlit cigarette. She climbed up onto the hood of her car. She shifted her feet, making sure she had the right footing. She took a deep breath did a front flip off of the hood. When she landed, she then continued into a cartwheel and two more front flips before stopping near the sidewalk. Em couldn't hide the grin that spread across her face at her success. The boys and Claire burst into applause, and she bowed playfully.

She walked over to the fence, shooting a smug look at the dark haired boy, "Beat that hot shot," Em said with a smirk.

Claire joined her friend near the fence handing her back the cigarette. "I bet five bucks you cant," She said looking the boy right in the eyes. Em's smile grew.

Claire always had her back. One of the other guys stood up and tried to copy her by attempting to do a one handed cartwheel. However, he failed and fell right on his ass. The two girls just burst out laughing at the sight. He shook his head, pushing himself back up onto his feet. He grinned and wiped the dirt off his shirt. "It's all in the technique," He stated with a wink.

Em looked him over. He was about six feet tall, and he had these light gray eyes. A defining feature about him was the rusty colored side burns framing his face. His hair was a slightly darker shade than his facial hair.

Em smiled, not noticing that the other guy, who was still on the steps, walked towards them. "Didn't know you knew fancy words like that Two-Bit," He stated, an amused smile forming on his face.

Both teens looked at him. He was handsome. Not just regular handsome, more like movie star handsome. He had a sensitive face that some how looked reckless and thoughtful at the same time. His brown eyes dance with excitement that reflected that recklessness you could see in his face. His hair was a soft shade of golden blonde. Em smiled to herself. He was dreamy. The guy named Two-Bit held up his middle finger.

Em couldn't help but laugh as the handsome one gave her a toothy smile. It was then that the name Two-Bit click in her head. She turned her attention back to him. "You must be the Two-Bit that Kathy has told me so much about over the last two weeks," She stated sure it was him. Who else would have that nickname?

Two-Bit grinned proudly. "That would be me. Well, that is if my Kathy has been saying nothing but good things about me," He replied leaning against the fence.

Em laughed, "Oh yes, definitely good things."

He grinned, "Well then if Kathy has been talking about me for two weeks, then you must be that girl that punched Tim at the Dingo couple week back," He replied pulling a pack of smokes out of the back pocket of his jeans.

Claire's mouth dropped and she smacked Em in the arm. "You didn't tell me about that," She hissed handing Em the bottle.

Em rolled her eyes," I don't see how having some hood try and pick me up is something to talk about," She retorted taking another swig from the half empty bottle.

"You're Em... or something," Two-Bit spoke up. He narrowed his eyes in though, "What the fuck did Kathy say your name was...," He thought out loud.

Em couldn't help but smile. He had barely said anything, and Two-Bit was already hilarious. "Its just Em," She stated with a nod.

Two-Bit raised an eyebrow at her before shrugging, "Well that was easier than I thought," He said as he pulled a cigarette from the pack. He quickly flicked on his lighter, lighting the end of his smoke.

"So," the dark haired boy interrupted, "How did you learn how to do that anyway?" He asked referring to her gymnastic abilities.

Em took another big swig from the bottle of vodka before turning and looking at him." I used to be a gymnast," She stated. Claire opened her mouth to argue, but Em shot her a dirty look. This made her close her mouth and keep it shut. It was one of those 'don't you dare' looks.

"But you used to be?" the handsome one asked as he walked closer to the rest of them.

Em looked up at him, he was kinda tall. "Yeah I used to. I broke my arm," Em explained lifting her arm up slightly. She looked him over again. 'Damn,' she thought to herself. He was fine.

He simply shrugged at her answer."Fair enough," He said taking a good look at her. She smiled to herself. He was checking her out too.

"I'm Claire!" She exclaimed holding her hand out over top of the fence. Em shot her a dirty look and Clarie rolled her eyes. "This is Em," She added pointing her thumb in her friend's direction.

Em simply rolled her eyes. "They already know that Claire."

The golden hair boy just smiled and took hold of Claire's hand, "I'm Sodapop, and he's Steve," She explained nodding his head in the dark haired boy's direction. He shook Clarie's hand and then reached to take Em's hand.

Em took a second before she reached her hand out to meet his,"Nice to meet y'all," She said looking between the three boys, not lingering on one too long. "What kind of name is Sodapop? I know Two-Bit is a nickname but..." Em continued, but Claire elbowed her in the ribs to shut her up. Em turned and glared at her.

Soda chuckled, "It's alright, I'm used to it," He replied, an amused smile spreading across his face. "My dad was original kind of guy," He explained watching the two girls.

Em looked from him, Two-Bit, and then to Steve. He was quite intently looking over Em's car. Em shook her head as Two-Bit mumbled something.

Clair and Em both looked at him and at the same. "What?" Both girls asked at exactly the same time.

Two-Bit raised an eyebrow at the two before laughing rather loudly. "I said happy birthday Em," He repeated that kooky grin appearing on his face again.

Em looked at him for a moment, blinking a few times. "How did you know it was my birthday?" She asked glaring at him. She wasn't happy about turning eighteen. Especially without her mom around.

Two-Bit shrugged. "Thought I heard Kathy say something about your birthday," She stated pulling a beer bottle out of his jacket pocket. How it fit in there, Em had no idea. He smirked at her silence. "Kathy can never say that I don't pay attention to her," He remarked popping the top off of the beer and taking a swig. "Besides, how old are you anyway? Forty or something?" He asked with a wink, that cheeky smirk never leaving his face.

Em couldn't help but laugh. Kathy was right. Two-Bit could always make you laugh. She was beginning to understand why the perky blonde hung around with the goof ball. "Come on, I don't look that much older then you," Em spat out once she stopped laughing.

"How old are you anyway?" Steve asked finally looking away from Em car.

"Eighteen," was Em's immediate response as she turned to look at him.

Claire liked to see Emback to her playful old self. She turned to Steve, "You know it's rude to ask a woman her age," She remarked raising her finger in the air for emphasis.

Em rolled her eyes, and Two-Bit simply chuckled. "Well I thought you were at least 17," Soda stated before Steve could comment.

Em smiled thankful that he had the same though as she did. "Nope thank god that's over," She said exasperated.

Claire gave Em a knowing smile. "Hey Em's can I have your smoke?" Claire asked reaching her hand out to grab the small tube.

Em pulled her hand away shooting a glare at her friend, "Hells no, this is mine."

Claire rolled her eyes, "But you've been holding it forever!" She whined jumping up and down slightly. "If you're not gonna light it, let me have it!"

Em sighed grabbing her pack from her pocket. She threw the pack at her, "There have one of those," She stated as Claire caught it. She turned back to the boys, putting her smoke between her lips again, "So what do you guys do for fun around here?" She asked searching her pockets for her lighter.

"Not much," Two-Bit replied taking his lighter out and flicking it on. She leaned forward putting the tip in the flame. "We're going to buck's for a bit to see what's happening there," He mused shoving his lighter back into his pocket.

"There is always something going on down there," Steve added sauntering back up to their group.

"Well what are we waiting around here for?" Claire asked tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Let's blow this Popsicle stand. It's boring just hanging around here!" She stated jumping around a little bit in excitement.

Em laughed resting her hands on her friend's shoulders,"Calm down Claire."

Soda grinned, "C'mon we'll show you the way," He stated walking away from the fence, towards the car parked at the end of the driveway.

Em turned to Clarie and nodded towards her car. Clarie smiled and bounded over to the car happily. Clarie never passed on a time to party. Steve and Two-Bit followed Soda towards the other car. Em pulled out her keys, preparing to follow the three boys to this 'party'. Claire hummed happily to herself and went to open the car door. That was when Erick and Matt pulled up.

"Shit!" Em cursed handing Claire the bottle of vodka. Clarie tilted her head slightly confused. "Don't let Erick see it," Em hissed turning and walking down the path to meet her brothers. Em smiled she hoped Erick hadn't seen the bottle

"Em's what was that?" Erick asked as he got out of the car.

Em smiled innocently, "What was what Erick?" She asked sweetly, looking around as if she had no idea what he was talking about.

Erick looked from Em to Claire raising an eyebrow at his sister. He glanced the guys on the other side of the fence, "Emily don't play dumb with me," He stated his eyes had changing slightly as he said it. "Where did you get the vodka from?" He asked again crossing his arms over his chest.

Em looked at him and put an evil grin said, "Where do you think I got?" She retorted mimicking his pose. "It's my birthday Erick, of course I'm going to drink."

Erick rolled his eyes, "Em's I just don't think it's a good idea for you to..."

"You're one to talk," Em interrupted cutting him off. "Remember when I found you after your eighteenth birthday? You were so drunk you couldn't even..." was as far as Em got.

"Ok, ok I get the point Em," He stated running a hand through his hair. "Where are you going anyway?" He continued changing the subject.

"Out with Claire," She stated as Claire walked up beside her. Em rested her elbow on Clarie's shoulder as she handed the bottle back to Em. She took a sip daring Erick to try and stop her. Erick looked at her raising his eyebrow. Em could tell he was mad, but she wanted to have fun on her birthday. She wasn't about to let her overprotective older brother ruin her fun.

Erick sighed uncrossing his arms,"Have fun Em's," He said in defeat. He knew that no matter what he said, she was still going to do whatever she wanted. Em had always been that way. The more you fought with her over it, the more she wanted to do it.

Em smiled, "Thanks Erick," She said as she jogged over to her car before he could change his mind.

Claire chuckled and followed closely behind her. Claire shot Erick a thankful look. It was good to hangout with Em again. Erick just sighed again, "Claire, watch over my little sister will ya," He called shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

The raven haired teen grinned, waving at him, "Sure thing Erick!" She called back as she got into the passenger seat of the car.

Em rolled her eyes and turned to look at Erick. "I heard that Erick!" She yelled at she turned the key. The engine roared to life. Without hesitation, she stepped down on the gas tearing out of the driveway, and down the street.

* * *

><p>Once their group arrived at Buck's Em and Claire couldn't help but look around. Two-Bit had been the first to run inside the house, eager to get his party on. Em grabbed her jacket from the back seat of her car and put it on, flipping the collar up. She turned her head when she saw Tim out of the corner of her eye. Steve and Soda were waiting for them, leaning back against what Em had gathered was Steve's car. Claire grabbed Em's arm as they started to walk to the guys. Em turned to look at her. Claire was biting her bottom lip trying to contain her excitement. She always seemed to explode in party like settings. Sometimes, Claire was just a giant ball of energy that was almost impossible to control. Em didn't understand where it all came from. Once they got inside, they all followed Two-Bit over to the pool table. He was grinning, a half empty beer already in his hand. Em smiled she was good at pool. She couldn't wait to show off her mad skills. After throwing one game, she could tell the guys were starting to get cocky. Little did they know, she had let them win.<p>

"I think we should make a bet for the next game," Steve piped up as he chalked up his pool cue.

Em raised an eyebrow, "What kind of bet?" She asked resting her hands on her hips.

Steve thought for a moment before a smirk spread across his face. "If we win, we get to drive your car for a week," He stated putting the chalk down, blowing the excess chalk off of his cue.

Em thought about it,"Ok deal. But if we win you, have to detail and fix my car," Em replied picking her own pool stick. She had been watching them, and she knew they were good with cars. After all, they did work at a gas station/ garage.

"Ok deal," Steve replied barely thinking the decision over. Soda looked at Steve, raising an eyebrow at his friend. Steve leaned over, "That car is too nice. Who in there right mind would trash it?" He whispered quietly to his best friend. Soda just shrugged, but nodded none the less.

Em smiled. This would be a piece of cake.

* * *

><p>The game was almost over. There was only the 8-ball left, and it was Em's turn. She took a sip of her drink and then handed it to Claire. Claire took a sip, staring intently at the game. Em walked over to the table and smiled at Soda. She lined up her shot carefully and took it. It whirled across the table and rolled into the pocket gracefully.<p>

Claire jumped up, throwing her fist up in victory,"Thats my girl Em's," She cried before chugging down the rest of Em's drink.

Em couldn't hide the smirk that spread across her face. She turned to Soda, resting a hand on her hip, "Better luck next time Romeo," She said tossing her pool que at Soda

He caught it easily. "Romeo?" He asked raising his eye brow.

Em nodded, leaning against the pool table slightly, "Yeah Romeo. You look like one of those guys that can break a girl's heart with a blink of an eye," She explained with a wink. Em walked over to Claire taking a seat next to her. Clarie smile sheepishly and handed the empty bottle back to Em. She sighed took her drink back, glaring at Claire.

Two-Bit took this time to saunter over to the two girls. "So Em, how did you learn to play pool like that?" He asked handing both girls new drinks.

Em shrugged popping the top off of hers, "Well when you grown up in a house full of boys, you learn a few things," Em explained as she reached into her pocket for her smokes. She fished them out and handed one to Claire. She took it gratefully and they all decided to find at seat.

Once they took a seat, Soda and Steve finally joined them. Steve had a beer, but Soda was empty handed. Em and Two-Bit began talking about everything under the sun. She liked how fun and carefree Two-Bit was. Kathy was right, he could always make you have laugh. She could see the appeal for someone as exuberant as Kathy. After a bit, Claire wandered off to get another drink, and Two-bit went along with her.

Em nursed the same drink. She wasn't a big fan of beer. Still, she took another sip from the bottle. "So I know Two-Bit from Kathy, but she never once said anything about you guys," She stated leaning back against the couch. "So tell me about yourselves," Em said resting her beer on the table next to the couch.

Steve was the first to speak up, "Well I am a master at fixing cars, and I can lift hubcaps faster than any hood on this side of town," Steve said proudly. He looked rather smug about it as well.

"So you're why Erick makes me park my car in the garage every night," Em remarked crossing her arms over her chest. Steve just nodded, smirking. She rolled her eyes and turned to look at Soda, "And what about you Romeo?" She asked crossing her legs.

"Well not much to tell really," He began with a shrug. He pushed up the sleeves on his shirt, "I'm a simple guy. I work at the Dx full time, and I live with my two brothers," He explained with a smile.

Em couldn't help but smile back, "I live with my brothers too," She said picking her beer back up. "Well actually, my little brother and I just moved in with are older brother," She explained taking a sip of her drink. It was nice to have something in common with someone around here. "So Soda what are your brothers like..." was as far as Em got.

She was distracted by a girl walking towards them. She looked really angry. She had long golden brown hair that was pulled up into a high ponytail. There was fire burning in her brown eyes that was quite intimidating. "What are you doing Steve?" She spat looking between him and Soda and then at Em. When she saw Em, she could see the rage burning brighter in her eyes. Em wanted to say something, but Claire and Two-Bit came back just then.

"What dose it look like I'm doing Evie? I'm talking to Soda and Kathy's friend Em," Steve explained looking up at the angry girl.

She snorted crossing her arms over her chest, "That's not what Sylvia told me," She spat narrowing her eyes at him. "She said you were playing pool with two girls and getting real cozy with them," She explained her nostrils flaring. It wasn't a very flattering look. "We had a date Steven," Evie added looking at Em. She checked Em up and down before doing the same to Claire.

Steve sighed taking a sip of his drink, "Evie I forgot it's Em birthday today. We didn't want her to spend it alone," He began resting a hand on her arm. However, she ripped it away from him. Steve visibly winced at the gesture. "Kathy was going to spend it with her, but her brother got jailed again," He continued to explain standing up.

"And what are you talking about getting cozy?" Em piped up no longer able to stand the ridiculous argument. "I've known these guys for like three hours. I'm sorry hun, but we don't work that fast," She stated looking up at Evie. Em felt the need to defend her new friends. She hated it when people thought she was a whore or something. She was not.

"That's not what I saw," Another girl piped up, coming up to stand beside Evie.

Em was sure that this was Sylvia. She had really tacky blonde hair that was obviously not natural. It was dull and hung down past her shoulders in messy curls. She had cold blue eyes, that kinda reminded Em of her own. "Then you need to get your eyes checked honey, 'cause getting cozy involves us touching them," Em stated taking another sip of her beer. "And if you saw that, then there is something seriously wrong with your eyes," She continued glaring at the fake blonde. Her eyes had shifted to that icy blue.

She was about to stand up, but Claire grabbed her arm, pulling her back down. "She's ain't worth it Em's," She whispered in her friend's ear as Sylvia walked away, a smug look on her face. Em snorted at that. She was sure stuck up. She pulled out a smoke and lit it with no hesitation. Em then looked back up at Steve and Evie.

Steve looked a little mad at the situation. Evie didn't seem to be making it any better. However, she looked a bit more calm than she had before. She looked away from Steve and at Em and Claire. She sighed, " I'm really sorry," She said looking down at her feet. Em could tell she was embarrassed by her outburst. "I should know better than to listen to Sylvia," Evie said added quietly.

Claire shrugged, smiling brightly, "No harm done! It's all good!" She exclaimed happily.

Em nodded in agreement, " Yeah it's fine," She stated taking yet another sip of her drink, which was almost gone by this point.

"So your Em right?" Evie asked looking at Em.

Em nodded as Evie as sat down next to her. "The one and only," She stated, a smiling at the other girl. "And this is Claire," She added pointing her thumb to Claire.

Evie nodded, smiling at the other girls. "I'm Evie. It's nice to meet you two," She stated pulling at the hem of her skirt. It was obvious that she was unhappy with how much it rode up. "So you're both new in town?" She asked turning her attention back to them.

"Well I'm new in town. Claire is just visiting from Little Rock," Em explained polishing off her drink. "I live next door to Soda."

Evie nodded, "Little Rock? I've never been there. Is it much different from here?" Evie asked tilting her head to the side slightly.

Em shrugged, "Well not by much. We do the same things, it's just that money doesn't set us apart," She began putting the empty bottle down. "Well it dose, but not as much," She continued running a hand through her hair.

"Em and I are middle class!" Clarie exclaimed. "We have money, but not as much as the rich kids do. Most of the rich kids have better cars then Em's. It just seems that what we call middle class is high class here," Claire mused, happy to finally be part of the conversation.

"Wow, sounds nice," Evie remarked, a small smile appearing on her face. It seemed obvious that she thought it sounded wonderful.

Em scoffed, "Yeah if being hated 'cause you have a bit of money, and because you don't have enough is nice," She retorted crossing her arms over her chest. "No matter where you are, you're always going to be hated anyway."

"So what is Em short for?" Evie asked changing the subject. She was beginning to feel real uncomfortable with the direction the conversation had been taking.

Em smiled she felt the same way. Evie knew when somethings are better left unsaid. "Emily But most people just shorten it to Em " She explained.

"Emily is a nice name," Evie piped up. "Why would people shorten it?"

"My brother Erick got lazy when we where younger. He thought Emily was to girlish for me," Em explained tucking her hair behind her ears.

"She was always with her brothers doing whatever they did. Well unless she was doing her gymnastics," Claire piped , bouncing in her seat.

Evie looked from Claire back over to Em. "You're a gymnast?" She asked as Em nodded. "Really? I thought you girls were quite a prissy," Evie stated leaning forward slightly.

Em couldn't help but laugh at that. "Nah. It's a dog eat dog world. There is always someone you have to be better then to win. Always some you have to beat you have to be the best. And you have to train like there is no end in sight," Em explained playing with the ends of her hair. "Anyways, I broke my arm and had to stop," Em added, looking down at her fingernails.

Claire was glad to see Em getting back to her old self. She then turned to Evie."So Evie, how did you meet Steve?" She asked, changing the subject.

Em didn't really care about how Steve and Evie meet. Em was sure it was at school, but she let Claire and Evie make small talk. Em had never really been good at small talk. Once Evie and Claire got that out of their systems, Em was ready to go home. It was already well past one am, and she was beginning to feel very tired.

Claire looked at Em's watch and sighed disappointed. " Well it late we should get going," Claire stated grabbing hold of Em's arm.

Em yawned and stood up, stretching. She smiled at everyone, "Well it's been nice. I had a good birthday thanks," She said waving to the guys, who were still drinking and having a good time. Well, except for Soda. "Oh and Two-Bit, tell Kathy that she owns me one hell of a party," She added pointing at him.

Two-Bit held up his beer. It swayed a bit. He was obviously drunk, "Will do!" He called giving her a thumbs up.

Em and Claire walked outside and to got into the car. They drove back to Em's house parking the car in the garage. She locked the door and the two girls stumbled into through back door and into Em's bedroom. Em sighed happily and lied down on her bed. Claire sat down at the end of the bed.

"That was fun," Claire stated laying back onto the bed.

Em nodded against the pillow, "Yeah, it was great," She replied sleepily.

"Hey Em's," She began propping herself up of her elbows, "What do you think of Steve?" She asked looking up at the ceiling.

Em opened one eye looking at her best friend, "He's alright. Not my type though," She replied pulling the blanket over herself, and Claire.

Claire sighed laying back down, shifting in the bed so that she was laying beside Em. "I think he's hot," She mused a dreamy smile spreading across her face.

Em rolled her eyes, "Of course 'you' would," She replied snuggling further into the bed. Clarie was very specific about the men in her life. They had to fit a certain mold, and unfortunately for Steve, he seemed to fit it quite nicely. "He has a girlfriend already Claire," She added with a yawn.

Clare chuckled, "Has that ever stopped me before?" She asked raising an eyebrow at Em.

Em sighed, "Good point," She agreed pulling the blanket up higher.

"Seriously, I think we would be a great couple..." She mused running her fingers through her hair.

"Ok Claire, go to sleep."

"I bet you he'll come around easily," Clare continued ignoring Em.

"Clarie, go to sleep."

"I bet you he's good in bed."

"CLAIRE! Go to sleep!" Em yelled pulling the pillow over her face. These were just things she didn't need to know, but Claire felt she absolutely had to share.

Claire sighed, "Sorry, yeesh," She retorted rolling her eyes. "You suck Em," She mumbled laying back down on the bed.

"Shut up Claire," was Em's muffled response. "It's sleep time."

With that Claire was silent. Em let out a sigh of relief and pulled the pillow away from her face. As she fell asleep her mind drifted to the guys they had just spent their entire evening with. She thought it was pretty nice of them to take her out on her birthday after just meeting her. Maybe life in Tulsa wouldn't be so bad after all.

thanks foamy for all your help with this your the best


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer i own nothing but Em,Matt ,Erick and Claire so far

ok everyone that likes this story i will be putting up all the chapter i have done so far beacuse i'm moveing very soon i will be stay at my husbands grandparents for awhile and will not be able to get any writeing done and then i'm driveing across the country so it will be a while till i update again

Crash

Two days had passed since Em's birthday and much to Em's disappointment, Claire was leaving the next day. Em had hoped she would stay longer. Such a short time was not enough. She missed the girl time with her best friend. However, Claire had things she needed to do and could not stay.

Em and Claire were sitting outside on the front step. The two were just talking when Erick opened the front door and peeked out at them. "Hey Em's, phone," He said, gesturing behind him towards the phone.

Em got up off the grass wiping her hands on her pants. She shrugged her shoulders at Claire's curious glance and walked in the house. "Who is it?" She asked looking at her brother.

"It's Kathy," He answered before turning away from her and disappearing into the kitchen.

Em shook her head and walked over to the phone. She picked it up, "Hey Kathy," She greeted before sitting down on the chair next to the phone.

"Oh Em! I am so sorry that I missed your birthday! I feel so bad, like I am a terrible friend for missing it," Kathy confessed. From the tone in her voice, Em could tell that Kathy was a little upset over this.

She chuckled in amusement, "Kathy its Ok. I had a pretty good day," She admitted assuring her friend that she hadn't really missed too much. "But on the plus side," She began leaning back against the chair. "I met that Two-Bit of yours, and some of his friends too," She stated thinking back to the night before.

"Great!," Kathy exclaimed excitedly. "Well, what did you think of him?" She asked enthusiastically.

Em laughed, "He's a funny guy Kathy a real smart ass," She replied.

Kathy couldn't help but laugh at that, "Don't I know it hon," was her amused and happy retort. "I still feel bad that I missed your birthday though," She pressed on.

Em sighed, "Seriously Kath, it's no big deal."

"Still, I want to make it up to you somehow," She continued on. "Oh I know!" She cried out suddenly. This made Em pull the phone away from her ear from the sudden loudness of her voice. "How about I take you out for dinner, my treat!" Kathy exclaimed excitedly.

Em could tell in the tone of Kathy's voice that she was smiling. She chuckled, "How can I resist an offer as generous as that," She replied with amusement in her voice. "But I have a small problem."

"Like what?"

"You see, my best friend Claire came down to visit me for my birthday and I can't just leave her here with Erick. Who knows what will happen," She explained running her fingers through her hair.

"No problem! She can come too!" She cried enthusiastically. "It will be nice to meet one of your friends from Little Rock."

"Alright then, what time do you want to meet up, and where are we going?" Em questioned playing with the phone cord.

"Hmm, what would be the easiest way to do this?" Kathy began thinking for a moment. "I know!" She cried after a moment or two. Em heard her finger snap as well. "I'll come and get you guys around eight."

Em nodded even though she knew Kathy could not see the gesture. "Alright, we'll see you then."

"Great! Bye Em's," Kathy said hanging up the phone.

Em hung up the phone just as Claire had walked into the house. Em looked over at her friend and smiled.

"What?" Claire remarked noticing the smile on her best friend's lip. "There's nothing on my face is there?" She asked running her hands over her palish skin.

Em laughed shaking her head, "No Claire, but we are going to go out with Kathy tonight," Em explained pushing herself out of the comfortable chair.

Claire smirked, "Well it's about time that I met her! " Clair stated flopping down on the couch. "Good!" She replied walking over to the linen closet and pulling out a few towels. "I'm going to take a shower. She will be here around eight," Em called out as she was walking in to her bedroom.

Claire was close behind her, "Hey Em's," She began gaining her best friend's attention.

Em turned to look at her, "What?" She asked suspiciously. Claire was rather mischievous at times.

"I need to get a pack of smokes. Can I take your car?" She asked with a smile trying, and failing, to look nice and innocent.

Em raised an eyebrow at her. Then she shook her head,"No way Claire. Unfortunately for you, I remember what happened to your last car," Em said picking up a pair of her jeans and a t-shirt to wear.

Claire rolled her eyes at her best friend, "It wasn't that bad!" She cried crossing her arms over her chest.

"You hit a tree because you dropped your lipstick under the seat," Em countered leaving the room with towels and her clothing in hand.

Claire sighed in frustration,"How else will I get smokes?" Clair asked throwing her arms up in the air.

"I don't care Claire!," She then thought a moment before speaking again. "Well you can't walk, it takes too long. You could ask Erick if you could borrow his car," She suggested heading towards the bathroom.

" Ask me what?" Erick piped up from the kitchen.

Em chuckled," God luck Claire," Em stated as she closed the bathroom door.

Claire sighed in annoyance. She ran her fingers through her hair before walking into the kitchen to sweet talk Erick into letting her use his car. He was standing at the sink, washing the few dishes that had collected over the last couple days. She bit her bottom lip, checking her 'assets' before casually walking over to him. "Oh Erick, I have a question for you," She stated as she walked towards him.

"What is it Claire?" He asked not really looking up at her.

She leaned against the counter, tilting her body forward a bit so that he could clearly see down her shirt. A tactic that usually got her what she wanted. "I was wondering, can I borrow your car?" She asked playing with the ends of her hair.

He turned to look at her, eying her suspiciously. Her eyes glanced down before quickly fixing back onto her face. He knew her tricks. "No Claire," He stated gruffly before turning back to the task in front of him.

"But I need to get smokes," Claire whined looking up at him, a pout forming on her painted lips.

Erick shook his head, "No. Not ever going to happen Claire," Erick stated flatly.

Claire was annoyed, but thought she could play up that she was upset. She contemplated crying. That always got her what she wanted. But, unfortunately, Erick knew her way too well for that to work. She sighed, "Fine! I'll walk," She muttered walking towards the front door.

Claire's eyes caught the sight of Em's keys on the table. A mischievous plan began to form in her mind. If she drove fast enough she could make it to the Dx and back before Em was out of the shower. Claire couldn't help but smile as the thought took shape in her mind. She took the keys from the table and walked out the front door. She got into Em's car and started it up. She slowly drove down the road. She wanted until she was half way down the street before speeding up. After that point Claire dove as fast as she could with out losing control of the vehicle. She made to the Dx in five minutes, which was probably some kind of record. She knew she had about ten minutes to make it back before Em got out of the shower. Claire parked the car and quickly walked in. She spotted Steve behind the counter and she smiled.

She pulled her shirt down a bit, showing off more cleavage than before. She fluffed her hair up before walking over, "Hey Steve, hows your day going?" She asked leaning down against the counter.

Steve looked at her, his eyes lingering on her chest before settling on her face. "Its going fine Claire, a bit better now," He stated with a wink. She couldn't help but let out a small giggle at the gesture. "What can I do for you?" He asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well Stevie, I came to get some smokes. But, I thought since you're here you could do me a huge favor," She hinted with a flirtatious smile.

Steve looked her over checking her out a second time. Claire seemed nice enough. "And what would that be?" He asked curiously.

"Well," She began tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Don't tell Em's that you saw me with her car. She will murder me with her bare hands," She explained with an innocent smile.

Steve smirked, "Well alright, I didn't see you with her car," He agreed with a nod.

"Thanks Stevie. Now how about that pack of smokes?" She suggested standing up straight, cutting off his view down her shirt. She had got what she wanted.

Steve reached under the counter and handed her a pack. Claire smiled and gave him the money. "Bye Steve," She called as she walked out, swaying her hips the whole way. She got into the car and looked at the time. She was in there for no more then five minutes. She still had time. With that thought, Claire sped off .

* * *

><p>Em walked out of the bathroom just as Claire put the keys back down on the table.<p>

Em smiled at her friend. "So did you get your smokes?" She asked rubbing the towel over her dripping hair.

She nodded her head vigorously, "Uh huh, sure did," She stated walking over to the couch. She flopped down on the softa upholstery. "So when is this Kathy chick coming?" Claire asked crossing her legs.

Em looked up at the clock, "In about five minutes," She replied with a shrug. She tossed the towel into the hamper in the laundry room before running her fingers through her damp hair. Before Claire could comment, there was a knock at the front door. Em smiled, "And that would be Kathy," Em stated walking over to the door.

She opened it, revealing Kathy standing their with her usually friendly and carefree smile plastered on her face. "Hi Em!" She cried skipping into the house in her excitement.

Em laughed, "Hey Kathy. This is my friend Claire," Em introduced pointing at Claire who was still lounging on the couch.

"It's so nice to meet you Claire. Em has told me so much about you," Kathy said walking further into the room and reaching her hand out to shake Claire's.

Claire eyed it curiously before shaking the other girl's hand, "Charmed I am sure," She stated in a fake British accent.

Em rolled her eyes, "Oh knock it off Claire."

Claire rolled her eyes and smiled at Kathy, "She's no fun," She remarked with a wink. Kathy laughed at this. "Anyways, sorry to hear about your brother hun,"She continued earning a smack on the back of her head from Em.

Kathy chuckled at the dirty look that Claire shot Em. "No really it's ok. I don't mind," Kathy said with a shrug. "Things like this just happen sometimes. Can't pretend it didn't."

Claire slapped her leg and gestured to Kathy, "See! You're such a bitch 'cause you hit me for nothing,"| Claire retorted.

Em rolled her eyes, choosing to ignore her friend. "So Kathy," She began slipping on her shoes. "Where are we going anyway?" She asked tossing Claire's shoes in her direction.

"To the Dingo and then to the bakery. After all what's a birthday without cake?" Kathy replied tucking her long hair behind her ears.

Em smiled, "Kathy you are really starting to sound like Matt," Em remarked.

Kathy's smile grew at this, "Well great minds do think a like after all," She stated.

Claire stood up and walked over to the door grabbing her jacket. Em mimicked this action and the three girl's walked out the door. They made their way over to Kathy's car and they all got in. Within moments, they tore down the street on their way to the Dingo.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Em woke up early. She got up at seven, which was much earlier than usual. Too early in Em's opinion. But she couldn't find a cause for sleeping in. Claire was leaving at eight to get back to Little Rock at a decent hour. She didn't want to get home too late. Her mom hated it. Em got dressed and went into the kitchen. Claire was all ready awake and dressed. To Em's surprise, she had also packed her stuff up. Claire was a procrastinator and usually left everything to the last possible second. This was a welcomed change.<p>

Em walked to the fridge and got out two eggs, her desired breakfast. She grabbed a pan from the cupboard and turned on the stove so that she could cook them. She then turned to look at Claire, "Erick's driving you back right?" She asked breaking the eggs on the edge of the pan.

Claire looked up at her, "Yep. Just me and Erick for five hours," She stated placing a smoke between her lips, "It's going to be fun. Not!" She scoffed lighting the end of her smoke.

Em laughed at this, "Oh yes, good old boring Erick," She stated poking at the eggs with her flipper. "Speaking of Erick, is he awake yet?" She asked gesturing to Claire to hand her a smoke.

Claire shrugged then reluctantly, she leaned over and handed her one, "I haven't seen him."

Em nodded leaning down to use the stove to light the end of her smoke. It flared up instantly. She blew the flames off of the top as she turned off the stove. She scooped the eggs out onto a plate, leaving it on the counter before turning to head up the stairs to Erick's room. Halfway up, she stopped and turned back around. She walked back into the kitchen and grabbed a mixing bowl from the cupboard. A mischievous grin spread across her face as she filled it with water.

Claire stared at Em with confusion but laughed once she realized what her friend was up to, "Em you are pure evil," Claire stated coughing slightly as she inhaled the smoke flowing off of the end of her cigarette.

Em looked at her, "I know right?" Em replied with wink, that smirk never leaving her face. Before she left the kitchen, she put her smoke out in the ash tray, leaving the rest of it for later.

She walked back up the stairs, careful not to spill any of the cold water onto the floor. With minimal difficulty, she opened up Erick's bedroom door. She spotted him still sound asleep on his bed. She shook her head in disapproval before taking a couple steps inside. She watched him for a minute before throwing the entire bowl water on him. Erick jumped out of bed, falling onto the floor with a loud thud. Em just laughed at the shocked look on his face.

"Good morning Erick," She greeted in a sickly sweet manner still trying to contain her laughter.

Erick glared at her, and pulled himself back up onto his feet. He wiped the moisture off of his face before pointing at her, "I am going to kill you," He stated as he took a step in her direction.

Em smiled still laughing, "No Erick don't," She pleading taking a step backwards.

Erick took a other step towards her, and she turned running out the door."You're dead little girl!" Erick yelled as he began running after.

He chased her down the stairs, easily catching up to her small head start. Before she could turn into the kitchen, he grabbed a hold of her arm. She tried to pull away but he was too quick. He wrapped an arm around her neck and trapped her in a headlock. Em then moved her foot behind his and then moved it forward tripping him. Erick fell backwards bringing Em down with him. Em smiled to herself wrestling with Erick was something they both enjoyed. It was something they had done for as long as she could remember. Em took advantage of his fall and tried getting up but Erick grabbed her foot and pulled her back down.

After a couple minutes of them wrestling, Erick managed to get her into another headlock. "Do you give?" He asked his breathing heavy from the activity.

Em sighed, "Yeah, yeah I give. For now," She agreed.

Erick laughed and let go of her. Em got up brushing herself off and straightening her rumpled clothes. After she had fixed herself up, she looked over at Claire. Claire was laughing so hard that she had thick tears streaming down her face, ruing her perfectly done make-up. After her laughter settled down a bit, she took a deep breath to compose herself.

"Oh my god," She began wiping the tears from her eyes, being careful not to smudge her make-up even further. "I can't tell you how much I'm going to miss you guys," Claire stated.

Em shrugged, "Never a dull moment around this place," She stated walking back into the kitchen and picking up her now cold eggs.

Erick chuckled, "No I think it's 'cause we're so fucked up, that it's funny," He said following his sister into the kitchen.

At that moment, Matt decided to make an appearance. " No it's because without us, Little Rock is boring," He said rubbing the sleep from his eyes. It was obvious that Em and Erick's little wrestling match had woken him up.

"You got it kid," Erick stated ruffling up his little brother's hair.

"Yeah, without Erick Phillips and Emily and Matt Thomas my life is so boring," Claire exclaimed stamping her cigarette out in the ash tray.

Matt, Erick and Em all looked at each other and laughed.

Once they all had eaten breakfast, it was quarter to eight. Only fifteen more minutes with Claire for god knows how long. It wouldn't be the same without her. She missed having her best friend around. Sure Kathy was a good substitute, but it wasn't quite the same thing. They didn't share the same kind of bond.

Em sighed as she looked at the clock, a frown on her face.

"What's up Em's?" Claire asked tilting her head to the side slightly.

Em turned to looked at Claire, "You have to leave in fifteen minutes," She explained sullenly.

Claire scoffed,"Oh relax Em's, I'll be back in two weeks," Claire stated patting her best friend on the shoulder. A smile forming on her lips.

Em smiled back and the two girls made their way to the front door. Once they were outside Em looked at Erick, who was putting the last of Claire's things in the back of his car. He had a dress shirt on and black pants. He never usually dressed up for a car ride.

Em scowled crossing her arms over her chest. "He's stopping at Mary's isn't he?" Em asked popping her hip out slightly.

Clare nodded, "Why else do you think would he take me home?" Claire replied. "It's not as if that is anything knew," She continued grimly.

Em just sighed. Neither herself or Claire liked Erick's girlfriend Mary. She wasn't the easiest broad to get along with. Most of all, Em hated the way she treated Matt and her. She always treated them like kids and it drove her nuts. Her eyes followed her brother as he once again disappeared into the house.

She began to recall the last time she saw Mary when Claire whispered in her ear, "The man of my dreams is here," She stated, a dreamy expression creeping onto her face.

Em followed her gaze and was not surprised to see Steve walking passed. Em shook her head. She could never understand Claire's taste in men."You mean the man of your dreams for the last three nights," Em stated raising an eyebrow.

Claire looked at Em. She couldn't help but see her logic. "True," She admitted with a nod, "But still, He is the man of my dreams. Besides, think of it this way, if Steve is coming then that means Soda should be around," Claire pressed on with a wink.

"And your point is?" Em asked, her stance and expression never changing. Sure Em had noticed that Soda was rather good-looking, but she wasn't in the market for something like that.

"My point Emily my dear, is that you like him," Claire teased.

"I do not!" was Em's immediate reply.

Claire scoffed brushing off her friend's answer. "Oh please, you totally do."

"Prove it."

"You gave him a nickname an hour after you met," Claire began having turned back to watching Steve.

"I never said that I didn't like him," Em replied finding herself watching Steve as well.

Claire smiled knowingly, "It's up to you," She responded with a shrug. "Now I am going to talk to Steve before your brother comes back outside," with that Claire walked towards the dark haired greaser.

Em smiled. Claire was never one to pass up on cute guy that was tall and had dark hair. It was one of her quirks. Em sighed. How she wished life could be that simple for her, but she had too many worries.

"So how have you been?" A voice behind her piped up.

Em jumped in surprise. She turned around. and spotted Soda standing on the other side of the fence. "Shit Soda, don't scare me like that," Em scolded walking over to the fence.

"Sorry Em, I didn't know you were so jumpy," Soda apologized with his typical happy-go-lucky smile.

Em just looked at him. "I'm not jumpy, I just didn't know you were behind me," Em replied with a shrug.

"Are you always this good at not answering questions?" Soda teased.

She couldn't help but smile, "It's one of my many charms Romeo, but I'm good. How are you on this very early morning?" She prodded with a bit of sarcasm in her voice.

Soda smirked, "Well I'm just fine Em," was his immediate reply. "Why does Claire call you Em's anyway?" He asked resting his arms on the fence. He understood people calling her Em, but not Em's there was only one m in Emily.

"Oh 'cause my full name is Emily Thomas. My first and last name both have a m in them so sometimes its Em, Em's or even Emmy," Em explained quickly. She never liked explaining that.

Soda opened his mouth to make a reply, but he closed it almost just a quickly. She eyed him curiously before pointing behind her. Em turned around and saw what he was pointing at. Claire and Steve were kissing. Actually, it was a bit more than kissing. They were making out.

Em turned back around, "Well that is not really something that I wanted to see at eight o'clock in the morning," Em said running a hand through her hair.

Soda shrugged, "Well it's a good thing Evie is not here," Soda piped up scratching the back of his neck, as he watched Steve slide his hands up to Claire's chest. "She'd be pissed."

Em turned back to look at them. She rolled her eyes as she spotted the new placement of Steve's hands. "Oh come on Claire! It is way too early for this," She yelled in their direction. Claire and Steve didn't stop at this. Claire just gave Em the finger. "Oh that's real grown up Claire. If you don't stop sucking face, I will start talking about that guy that you really like. The tall dark haired guy that you had fun with at the lake... shit what was his name," Em rambled on snapping her fingers trying to think of his name.

By this time, Erick had walked back out of the house. He had passed by while Em was yelling all this across the lawn to her friend. "Mike," Erick blurted out as he walked passed.

"Yes that's it! Mike!" She cried in triumph. "I'll tell Soda about the time you and he..." was as far as Em got.

"Shut up Emily," Claire yelled pulling her lips away from Steve's just long enough to say that before shamelessly continuing their make-out session.

Em rolled her eyes, tapping her foot impatiently as the two began to get more comfortable."Ok Claire, that's enough. You have to go in like two minutes. I know you like to move fast, but there is no way you are fast to get done what you want to do in that time frame," Em spat in annoyance. She could only handle Claire's promiscuity for so long.

Claire pulled away from Steve with an annoyed sigh. She turned and gave Em the death glare. The look Steve shot in her direction wasn't that much better either. She mumbled something to Steve before kissing him again and walking to the car. " You're a bitch, you know that right?" Claire spat as she brushed passed her best friend.

Em couldn't help but smirk at this, "Yeah I do Claire bear," She remarked.

Claire gave her the finger again she he climbed into Erick's car. "Eat me!" She called back sticking her tongue out.

Em laughed, "Oh you wish," She replied before turning back around. She couldn't help but notice that Steve had wandered back over and was now standing next to Soda. She shook her head in disappointment as she looked at him. She was sure he could do much better than Claire, but who was she to say anything.

"Hey Em can you watch Matt while I'm gone?" Erick asked as he walked to the car.

Em shook her head turning to look at her brother, "Erick, he's fifteen. He so does not need a babysitter," Em stated crossing her arms back over her chest.

Erick sighed, "Fine Em," He replied in defeat, getting into the car. "Just be good," He called out the window as the engine roared to life.

" I can't promise that!" She called over the sound of the engine.

Erick did not look amused by this. "Just promise me that you won't burn the house down," He continued as he slowly backed the car out of the driveway.

Em frowned, "That only happened that one time! Besides, it wasn't me, it was Claire," Em retorted.

"Hey!" Claire called in outrage, "You promised you'd never tell!"Erick shook his head at the two girl's childish behavior. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Claire yelled half hanging out of the window as Erick switched gears.

"Claire there isn't anything you wouldn't do," She remarked a smirk forming on her lips.

"That my dear Emmy, is the point," She stated smugly. Em just rolled her eyes at her best friend.

Erick leaned over Claire, "Be good little girl," He said sternly, a serious expression on his face.

Em rolled her eyes again. Was he for real? "Ok you old fart!" She yelled in response as they took off down the road.

After the car had vanished from sight, Matt came outside. He was still in his pajamas. Typical fifteen year old. No point in getting dressed before noon. He smiled at Em. She smiled back and walked over to her little brother. Instantly, she ran her hand through his hair messing it up.

"Oh come on Em's! Knock it off with the hair," He grumbled smoothing down his greased hair.

She laughed before turning back to the two guys still standing by the fence. "Matty," She began resting her hand on his shoulder, "This here is Soda, and that grump over there, is Steve," She introduced them, gesturing to each one as she went.

"Hey ," Matt muttered, managing to wave at the older boys. Soda greeted him back, while Steve just nodded in his direction. Matt turned from them back to his big sister. "I'm going for my run," He announced before heading back towards the house.

Em shrugged, "Alright, have fun kiddo," Em said messing up his hair again before he could get too far away. He groaned and smoothed down his hair again.

"Is he shy or..." was as far as Steve got before Em turned around and gave him a death glare.

"Don't even say it Steve!" She barked. "He is shy ok? leave it at that," was her irritated retort before walking away. Behind her, she heard hushed voices before the a grunt and a dull thus. It was the sound of someone getting pushed. Em just shook her head.

She wandered into the garage and opened it without a second thought. She walked around to the front of her car, to make sure no one had tampered with it before she took it for a drive. What she saw, was not what she had expected.

"Dammit Claire!" She yelled, throwing up her arms up in frustration.

She pulled her keys from her pocket and climbed into the driver's seat. Taking a deep breath, she silently prayed the engine would turn over as she slipped the key into the ignition. She turned the key, and was thankful when the engine roared to life. Em wiped her brow, wiping off imaginary sweat. It still worked. If Clair drove anything it was her own car. Even those had a terrible track record. Last time she got a new car, she had it for a day and managed to total it. Em listened hard to her car for a minute to see if she could hear anything rattling or anything to indicate that there was something wrong with the internal mechanisms. It didn't sound quite right to her.

Em sighed,"Fucking hell," She grumbled shutting the engine off and getting out of the car. She walked out of the garage and saw that Steve was standing on Soda's step, a lit cigarette hanging from his mouth. "Hey Steve!" She called getting his attention. "Can you come here for a minute?" She asked waving him over.

Steve eyed her curiously, "Why?"

"'Cause there is something wrong with my car, that's why smart ass," Em stated mumbling the last part. She really didn't want to piss him off, or he might not help her with her car.

Reluctantly, Steve walked over and hoped over the fence with minimal difficulty. He threw his smoke down, stomping on it before following her into the open garage. She walked to her car with Steve close behind her.

Steve walked to the front of her car and his mouth dropped open. "Holy shit Em what did you do to your car?" He asked, his eyes as wide as saucers. Em looked at him

Em sighed tucking her hair behind her ears, "It's not what I did to my car, its what Claire did to it," She stated bitterly.

Steve whistled, "Man, that girl shouldn't have a license," He stated eying the damage.

"Anyways," Em continued changing the subject back to her car, "It will start, but it sounds funny to me," She explained putting the key back in the ignition.

"Well pop the hood," Steve stated walking closer to the car.

Em did as she was asked. Steve looked it over for a couple minutes, touching this and touching that. She couldn't see what he was doing from inside the vehicle, but she had some faith in Steve. After all, he did this kind of thing for a living.

After a bit, he sighed and the closed the hood, "I'll have to take it to the Dx to have a better look at it," He said wiping his greasy hand off on his already dirty jeans. He then held his hand out for the key.

Em pouted at him, "Fine," She stated in defeat getting out of the car. Hesitantly, she handed him the key. "But how will I get there if you take my car?" She asked shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

Steve looked at her appearing deep in thought. After a moment, his expression when back to normal, "You can catch a ride to the Dx with Soda," Steve stated with a small shrug, "Just tell him about the car and Darry and Soda should give you a ride," He explained getting into the car and starting it up

"Ok, but be careful," She insisted, worry showing on her face. She absolutely hated having other people drive. It always made her anxious, since Claire always crashed her cars.

Steve rolled his eyes, "I will," He said gruffly before backing out of the garage and onto the street.

Without another word, he drove away. Em watched him until she could no longer see her car. She frowned, looking down at the ground. She shuffled her feet along as she walked into the house. She quickly scribbled a note for Matt to tell him that Claire had fucked up her car and that if he needed her, she would be at the Dx waiting for it to be repaired. Em grabbed her leather jacket from the closet and moseyed her way next door. She knocked on the door and waited.

About a minute later, Soda opened the door. He was clad in only a pair of jeans, giving her a nice view of his bare chest. She forced herself not to get distracted by this, but found it more difficult than she expected. She quickly looked him over before mentally scolding herself. 'Remember your car, you dip shit,' She thought her herself. "Hey Romeo, can I get a ride to the Dx?" She asked forcing herself to look at his face.

He eyed her suspiciously, "Why? Something wrong with your car?" He asked, running a hand through his damp hair.

He had just had a shower. Em found her eyes straying back down before she could reply. She forced her eyes back up hoping that he didn't notice then straying. "Well the front is smashed up, so I got Steve to look at it," She began scratching the back of her neck nervously. He was going to think she was some kind of moron for letting someone smash up her car. Even though that wasn't the case at all. "He said he would have to take a better look at it at the Dx. He said I could catch a ride with you since I have no other way to get there besides my legs," She explained cooly as she could.

Soda smiled his trademark smile. "Alright then, since Steve has already gone, we have some room in the truck for you. You'll have to sit in the middle though," Soda stated.

Em sighed running her fingers through her hair, "Perfect," was her retort. Her voice held a hint of sarcasm in it.

Soda stepped aside and gestured her to enter his house. She shrugged brushing passed him and into the small home. Once inside, Em looked around. It was rather cozy. Not too big, but not too small. A good sized house. The TV was blasting, and cards and crumbs littered the hardwood floor in the living room. It was easy to tell that three or more guys lived there.

"Hey Soda where is Steve?" A deep male voice called from the kitchen. Not even a second passed before he stepped out into the living room. Em guessed that this was Soda's older brother Darry. He looked a bit older than she thought he would. She was also surprised that he looked nothing like Soda. He looked at her suspiciously before turning back to Soda, who had thankfully, found a shirt. "Who is this?" Darry pointing in her direction.

"Oh," Soda said walking over to them pulling his Dx shirt on over his white t-shirt. "Darry this is Em, she lives next door with Erick," Soda stated making the introductions.

Darry walked over held his hand out for her to shake. She shook it without hesitation. "You're his little sister right?" Darry asked buttoning up his work shirt.

She nodded, "Yeah, but not by choice," Em answered crossing her arms over her chest.

Darry chuckled, "Yeah I hear that," He remarked picking up his tool belt from beside the door. "What brings you over here?"

"Seems she's having some car troubles so Steve took her car to the Dx," Soda piped up grabbing his shoes from underneath the couch. How they got there, Em would never know. "Steve told her to catch a ride with us, since we're heading that way."

Darry nodded, "Suppose we could swing that. It's not like it's an inconvenience at all."

"Nope," Soda replied.

Em rolled her eyes. She hated it when people talked about her like she wasn't there. "You know I am standing right here right?" She piped up crossing her arms across her chest.

Soda looked at her, "No really?"

"Yeah, we thought you were invisible or something," Darry added as he slipped on his work boots.

Em shook her head, "Ya'll are so weird," She mumbled turning around, "I'm waiting outside."

"Alright, we'll be out in a minute!" Soda called after her.

After they had all gathered their things, the boys made their way out of the house. Soda, to her surprise, was both sock-less and shoeless. He carried his shoes under his arm as he headed towards the truck. Darry dropped his tool belt in the truck bed before climbing into the driver's side. Soda opened the passenger door and gestured for her to get inside. She made her way over and climbed in. Soda followed, and soon she found herself nearly squished between the two brothers. Darry started the truck and soon they were headed for the Dx.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer i own nothing but Em,Matt ,Erick and Claire so far

ok everyone that likes this story i will be putting up all the chapter i have done so far beacuse i'm moveing very soon i will be stay at my husbands grandparents for awhile and will not be able to get any writeing done and then i'm driveing across the country so it will be a while till i update again

Tried of Waiting

Once Em and Soda arrived at the Dx, they quickly got out of the truck. With a wave, Darry pulled out of the parking lot and took off down the street leaving the two teenagers alone. Once Darry was gone, the two started walking over the garage portion of the store.

Em smiled and looked up at Soda as they walked along at the leisurely pace. "So Romeo, what dose your other brother look like?" Em asked curiously.

Soda raised an eyebrow at her, "Why do you want to know what Pony looks like?" He asked with some confusion.

"Oh now look who isn't answering questions," She teased a chuckled slipping from her lips. He shook his head antics. "I just want to know if he looks more like you or Darry, or if he is better looking then both ya'll," Em answered shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

Soda simply shrugged, "More like me I guess," He answered honestly.

"Really?" Em said and she couldn't help but smile to herself. She was mighty glad that she lived next door to them now. Lots of good looking guys to gawk at. "Well it's a good thing that Claire left. If she saw Darry, man she would have had a field day," Em stated an amused smirk stretching across her lips.

Soda laughed at Em's statement, "Claire is really something isn't she?"

"Hun," She began stopping her stride and resting her hand on his shoulder. He turned to her curiously, "You have no idea," She finished before continuing their pace. Soda just shook his head.

When they reached her car, Em couldn't help but sigh. It was a shame that Claire had gotten her hands on it. Who knows what damage she had done.

"What the hell did you do to your car?" Soda asked looking it over with a look of astonishment on his face. He knelt down looking at the damage to the front of her car.

" It wasn't me, it was Claire," Em insisted gesturing towards the damage. "As you can see, she is not a very good driver," She remarked bitterly. Em then proceeded to open the drivers side door and reach into the back seat for her sunglasses.

Soda looked up at her disapprovingly, "Well if she's a bad driver, why did you let her take your car?" He asked standing back up.

"She didn't," Steve piped up, "Claire just took it. She was here last night with Em's car to get smokes," He explained, reaching into the car and popping the hood.

"What!" Em cried at the new information. "I'm going to kill her!" Em nearly yelled, her face turning bright red.

"Yeah that's what Claire said you would do," Steve added with a smirk.

Em sighed in annoyance, and took her smokes out of her pocket. It was then that a thought struck her. She grinned, "Hey, you two remember my birthday right?" She asked them. Both boys nodded in response. "Well, good 'cause you know that bet we made..." She began leaning back against the side of her car.

Soda turned to Steve and hit him over the head, "No one would do anything to car as nice as hers," Soda stated bitterly, glaring at his best friend.

Steve shrugged, "So I was wrong, big fucking deal."

Em rolled her eyes before storming off away from the two boys. She made sure she was far away from the pumps before lighting her cigarette with her zippo lighter. She held the small metal object in her hand flicking it open and closed in annoyance. She was mad. Real mad. So mad that she really wanted to hit something. Secretly, she was hoping for that Sylvia to show up and start running her mouth again. It would give her an excuse to pound something. That sounded like a wonderful idea. However, it was unrealistic. After a few minutes, Em finished her smoke. She dropped it on the ground, stomping on it to extinguish the embers. When she was certain it was out, she walked to the front of the Dx. She sighed as she sat down on a bench outside the garage door.

A few minutes later, Soda came out. He spotted her and sat down on the bench beside her. Em felt compelled to look up at him. He really was very easy on the eyes. It almost made Claire crashing her car not seem like such a terrible thing. Almost. "What do you want Romeo?" Em grumbled in annoyance. Despite how attractive he may be, it didn't mean that she wasn't still pissed.

He chuckled flashing that carefree smile. "Clam down Em. I'm on the pumps today," He explained running his hand over his slicked back hair. "It's Steve's job to work on your car."

Em rolled her eyes, "Great. Any news?"

"He said your car needs a new radiator, " Soda replied the smile disappearing from his face and a more serious expression replaced it.

Em groaned, "That is just fucking great!" She nearly yelled throwing her hands up in the air at her terrible luck. "How much is the radiator going to coast me?" She pressed on clenching her fists tightly.

Soda shrugged, "I'm not too sure. A hundred bucks, maybe less, maybe more."

"Well there goes the rest of my money," She stated bitterly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Now I really need a fucking job," She muttered, glaring at the cars that raced passed the gas station.

Soda couldn't help but smile. It was hard for him not to. "So Em," He spoke up in an attempt to change the subject. He wanted to take her mind off of the damage Claire had inflicted on her car. "How did Claire almost burn your house down?" He asked, leaning forward on the bench.

Em turned her head to look at him, "Well, we would have been about fourteen," She began a small smile tugging at her lips at the memory. "Claire has this thing for guys will dark hair, as you can tell by her behavior with Steve. Anyway Erick was the start of that whole thing. At one point, Claire really liked him," She began tucking her hair behind her ears.

Soda nodded, listening intently. "Keep going," He urged curious as to where this was all going.

"Well obviously, he is older than us. So, one day, Claire planned to make a move, but he had this date with some girl and that just left Claire and I alone at my place. Anyway, she got mad that Erick was out with another girl and that he never even gave Claire a second look. And trust me, she really tried. I don't know how many times she would purposely drop things just so she could bend down in front of him so he could see down her shirt," Em recalled with a small laugh.

Soda joined in with the laughter, "Claire really is a character."

Em nodded before continuing, "So to vent her anger towards my brother, she put his favorite shirt in the oven. I didn't know about it or I would have stopped her. Anyway, she turned it on full blast. Luckily the whole house wasn't on fire, it just the stove. And of course being the tuff person that I am, I told her that I would take the blame for the incident," Em concluded crossing her legs. Soda just laughed at her past misfortune. Still, Em smiled.

For the rest of the day Em was bored out of her mind. Every once in a while, Soda would talk to her when he wasn't busy, but it wasn't enough. She was doomed to sit on the bench and wait. Steve came out and told her about her car a couple times, explaining things that she sort of understood, but beyond that, there was nothing to do. It was around two pm when Two-Bit and Kathy showed up. Em was so happy to see them that she ran up and gave Kathy a big hug.

Kathy laughed, but hugged her back. "What's going on here Em? Are you ok?" Kathy asked holding her at arms length, a smile never leaving her face.

"Kathy I'm so glad you're here!" Em cried exasperated. "Claire totally fucked my car up and Steve is fixing it," Em explained gesturing towards the opened door of the garage.

Two-Bit raised a curious eyebrow, "What did she do to it?" Two-bit asked, a look of disbelief on his face.

"Go and take a look for you self," Em replied gesturing towards the garage. Two-bit simply shrugged and disappeared into the garage.

Kathy and Em walked over to Two-Bits car, and Em sat down on the hood. The car sagged under her weight. Em glared down at it causing Kathy to giggle in amusement. Em shook her head and sighed. A silence passed over the two girls for a few moments before Em spoke up.

"Hey Kathy, I need to find a job. Any ideas?" Em asked running a hand through her hair.

Kathy leaned back against the side of the car as she thought about it. "Well," She began, "We just lost a girl at the thrift store that I work. I can talk to my boss and see if she'll hire you. We could use the help," She trailed off as her thoughts wandered as she thought about the possibility.

"Really?" Em pressed on turning to look at her friend. "That sounds like an okay place to work."

"I could talk to her for you. You'd still have to come in for a formal interview, but I could run the idea by her," She explained tucking her hair behind her ears.

"Are you sure? I don't wanna inconvenience you at all," Em continued sliding off of the hood of Two-Bit's car.

Kathy scoffed, "It's no problem. I have to start work at four anyway," She added with a shrug.

Em smiled, "Thanks Kathy."

"Anytime Em, I like to help people," She mused turning towards the garage to see if Two-Bit had emerged. He had not. She sighed in annoyance before turning back to Em, "Why do you need a job anyway? I thought you had money hidden away some where," Kathy questioned smoothing out the invisible wrinkles in her skirt.

"It wasn't really hidden," Em stated with a shrug, "It was just money I had saved up when I broke my arm and I need a new radiator for my car, so that's pretty much all of it down the drain," Em explained crossing her arms over her chest. It was quite obvious that this fact aggravated her.

Kathy nodded, smiling when she spotted Two-Bit heading over. His usual carefree smirk on his face. "Holy shit Em, was Claire drunk or something?" He asked coming to stand next to them.

"She wasn't drunk, but knowing Claire she could have been on something. But, truthfully, Claire is just a bad driver," Em replied shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

"Wanna tell me how she got her license?" Two-Bit pressed on lazily wrapping his arm around Kathy's waist.

Em thought about it for a moment, "Honestly, I don't know. She more than likely fooled around with the instructor and he passed her," Em stated with seriousness.

Both Two-Bit and Kathy laughed at this, "That Claire sure is something," Two-Bit said letting his arm fall from Kathy's waist and walking towards his car.

"What is it with people saying that today?" Em asked in annoyance. It had been like that for most of her life. Everyone was always so into Claire, and she got handed the short end of the stick. No one noticed plain Jane Emily. Not that she was truly plain, but there was just something about Claire that seemed kind of exotic. It made people want to take a second look at her best friend. At least, that's how Tommy had explained it to her. At one point in time, all the attention to Claire drove her insane. However, she had gotten used to it by now. Although, it was still annoying to say the least.

"Two-bit Claire is..." Kathy began, but seemed to fall short of the mark as she failed to think of where her train of thought was heading.

"Claire is Claire," Em spoke up for her new friend. "She might sleep around, but she is a nice person and despite all the shit she puts me through, she's is fun to be around," Em finished a small smile appearing on her lips.

Kathy returned the smile and followed Two-Bit towards his car, "Hey Em want a ride home?" Kathy asked opening the passenger side door.

"Hell yeah!" She exclaimed enthusiastically. "I have to go see how Matt's doing anyway," Em piped up heading towards her friend.

Kathy turned to her boyfriend, "We need to stop at Em's place before you drive me to work," Kathy stated as she climbed into the old beat-up car.

"Kathy, you know my brakes are shit. I don't think its a good idea," Two-Bit replied with a sigh.

"Oh come on Two-Bit don't be a baby," She stated climbing into the back seat. "Just don't hit the brakes. It's not that hard. You can always change to low gear to stop," Em explained as he also got into the car.

"How in the hell do you know that?" Two-Bit asked turning around to look at her.

Em shrugged, "I know how to drive," She replied simply.

Two-Bit just rolled his eyes, "Buckle up ladies," Two-bit stated turning the key in the ignition.

Kathy rolled her eyes, "Already taken care of," She replied smugly, gesturing towards her buckled seat belt.

Two-Bit shook his head and chuckled before backing out of the parking lot. They drove in relative silence for a few minutes. Em turned her head to look out the window at the passing scenery. It had been a while since she had rode in the back seat. Usually, she was the one that drove since she had the nicest car and was the best driver. With Claire around, driving was necessary.

"Hey Em," Kathy piped up turned around to look at the other girl. "Wanna come to work with me, so that we can both talk to my boss?" She suggested, her eyes dancing with excitement. It was obvious to tell that Kathy was really keen on the idea of Em working with her.

"Sure, I like the sound of that, but I still need to go and check on Matt," She explained leaning forward in her seat slightly.

"Oh of course!" was Kathy's bubbly retort.

Once they got to her place, Em walked inside. She looked around the house for Matt, but she couldn't find him at all. He was not in the house. She sighed in annoyance. She opened the back door and took a look in the backyard. He was still no where to be seen. She was about to head back inside when she spotted a flash of movement in her peripheral vision. She turned to look in the direction the movement had originated. It came from Soda's back yard. To her surprise, there was Matt hanging out with another boy around his age. This, she assumed, must have been Soda's younger brother Ponyboy.

She descended the couple steps leading up to the back door and walked over to the fence, "Hey Matty!" She called, resting her arms on top of the wooden divider.

Matt waved enthusiastically, "Hi Em!" He called before rushing over to the fence to see his sister.

She smiled ruffling his hair, ignoring the scowl she received by doing so, "So listen kid, my car is fucked, thanks to the oh so wonderful Claire," She began running a hand through her hair as she watched her brother fix his own. "So I am going with Kathy to the thrift store to see if I can get a job," She explained letting her hands fall down to her sides.

Matt scoffed in disbelief. "A job? You? You're going to get a job?" He continued on with a bit of surprise in his voice as well as quite a bit of sarcasm.

"Watch it Matty," She barked pointing her finger at him. "We need the money and I ran out of the money I saved up," She concluded resting her hands on her hips. "Just tell Erick about my car if he gets back before I do," Em continued on when Matt failed to respond.

Matt shrugged his shoulders, but nodded all the same, "Ok," He replied as the other boy made his way over to the fence.

He watched the two siblings with curiosity before introducing himself. "Thought it was pretty lousy of me to stand over there and ignore you like that," He spoke up, his words directed towards Em. He held his hand out over the fence for her to shake, "I'm Ponyboy," He said with a friendly smile.

Em couldn't help but smile back. He was kinda cute. She could instantly see the family resemblance between him and Soda. They had the same smile. "Em. Hmm you do kinda look like Soda," She remarked as she shook his hand. He shrugged his shoulders as if it were no big deal, but you could see in his eyes that he was proud of the fact that he looked like his brother. She suppressed a chuckle, and turned back to her little brother. "Anyway Matt, I have to go. Two-Bit and Kathy are waiting on me," She explained shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans as she walked backwards away from them. "It was nice to meet you Ponyboy, and Matt, don't do anything I wouldn't do," She called before turning around and heading towards the front yard.

"That's not going to be a issue," Matt replied. "See you later sis!" He called after her as she disappeared around the corner.

It didn't take long for Two-Bit to drive the two girls to the thrift store from Em's place. Once they arrive, Kathy and Em got out of the car. Without a word, Em walked inside the small store. She thought it would be a good idea to leave Kathy and Two-Bit alone for couple of minutes. After all, she had intruded on their time together. She felt a little bad about it, but not really. She enjoyed their company, even if it was somewhat awkward at times.

A fair amount of time had passed by and Em was looking around at some of the stuff on the shelves when Kathy walked up beside her. She seemed to appear out of no where. "C'mon Em's, let's go and meet my boss," Kathy chirped wrapping her arm around Em's and pulling her towards the back room.

Em nodded seeming to have no choice in the matter what so ever. Kathy dragged Em along with her as the two girl's walked through the back door looking for Kathy's boss. It did not take long for the bubbly blonde to spot her. It was then that Kathy finally released her hold on her arm. Em shook her head as Kathy skipped off towards the older woman. Em followed her at a much slower and more casual pace. Em listened as Kathy began to explain to her boss that Em was new in town and needed a job.

After Kathy finished, her boss looked at Em and smiled, "Hi, I'm Lisa," She introduced herself, holding her hand out for Em to shake.

She smiled back and shook her hand firmly, "I'm Emily."

Her hand fell back to her side that warm and friendly smile never leaving her face. "Well Emily, what where you looking for? Part time, or full time?" She asked clasping her hands together in front of her.

"Full time," Em replied.

"For the summer full time and part time when school starts up?" Lisa pressed on casting a sideways glance at Kathy, who was attempting to tie her apron and having some difficulty.

Em shrugged, "I graduated in June and I haven't decided on collage yet, so just full time," Em answered honestly.

Lisa's smile widened, "So when can you start?"

Em grinned back. "Anytime."

It was decided that Em would start the next day. She was going to open the store with Lisa and learn the ropes. Em left the shop with a smile on her face. Despite her bad luck with her car, her day wasn't turning out to be so bad. She had a job, and she had made a good deal on her bet. She lit a smoke and looked around the street for a pay phone. Fortunately, she didn't have to look very hard. There was one across the street. She looked both ways across before running to the other side of the street. There wasn't much traffic, but running always made it seem more fun. She fished out some change and put the money into the phone. She dialed the number for her house and waited for someone to answer. After three rings, Matt picked up. She proceeded to tell him that she had gotten the job. He seemed excited for her. This put a bigger smile on her face. Casually, she asked if Erick was home, and wasn't surprised when he came back with a no. It was four thirty, so she had not expected for Erick to be back yet. But she thought it was worth a shot. After a short goodbye, she hung up the phone and continued along on her journey down the strip.

After a couple minutes of walking, she spotted the Dingo. Her stomach rumbled at the thought of food, and she remembered she had not eaten much today. She started to walk towards the when a girl stepped in front of her.

"Hey can I bum a smoke off you?" The girl asked, somewhat rudely. She smacked her gun loudly as she waited impatiently.

Em looked her over, she couldn't be more than fourteen. She had long black hair and bright blue eyes. She wore a tight shirt and a revealing top. The heavy make-up covering her face did nothing to enhance her looks. Her attire was enough to cause Em to wrinkle her nose in displeasure. This girl wasn't old enough to be dressing like Claire. "Sure," She mumbled none the less. She pulled out her now beat up package and handed one to the girl.

She took it gladly, tucking it between her lips, "Thanks," She stated pulling out a pack of matches and lighting it. She let out a content sigh as exhaled. She then turned to look at Em once more, "Hey, your the new girl right?" She asked pointing her finger at her.

Em scoffed, "Is it really that obvious?" She countered slightly annoyed that she stuck out. Not that it bothered her that much, she just wasn't used to the attention that came along with being 'the new girl'.

The girl shook her head, "No, I just haven't seen you around before," She replied before holding her hand out, "Names Angela."

"Em," She replied taking her hand. 'Man I am doing a lot of hand shaking today,' She thought to herself.

"Nice meeting you, but I gotta go. I said I'd meet my brother down at the Dingo," Angela stated gesturing towards the diner.

"I was heading there myself," She stated shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

Angela smiled, "Hey, wanna walk together? I know it's not far, but I like you," She exclaimed dropping her smoke on the ground before stopping it out.

Em chuckled, "Sure, I don't see why not."

With that, the two girls continued on their journey down the strip towards the diner. Along the way, they talked about random stuff. Girls stuff, they briefly touched on their families and found that they had a lot in common in that department. Only difference being that both of Angela's brothers were older than her.

When they were in view of the Dingo, Em stopped. She only stopped because she spotted Tim Shepard. She scowled at him before turning to Angela. It was then that she noticed the resemblance between her and Tim. The black hair, the blue eyes, the shape of her face. It was easier to tell now that she could see the both of them nearly side by side. Em cursed her luck. "Fuck. You're a Shepard," She stated.

Angela just laughed, "Well that much was obvious," She replied, but her smile fell when she realized that Em wasn't smiling with her. "What's wrong with being a Shepard?" She asked tilting her head to the side. Before Em could reply, Angela began to speak again. "Hey! Your the chick that punched Tim!" She exclaimed pointing her finger at the older girl again.

Em nodded crossing her arms over her chest, "Yes I did," She stated coldly turning and glaring at him, "And I'll do it again if he opens his big fucking trap," Em seethed threateningly. She was dead serious. If there was one thing Em couldn't stand it was egotistical men. They were always so full of themselves.

Angela tossed her hair over her shoulder as she laughed again, "Man you got guts. You know no one treats Tim like that and gets away with it," She explained smugly.

Em shrugged, "Whatever. It was nice meeting you, bit I think I'll go the rest of the way on my own," She stated flatly as she slipped past Angela and left her to go and talk to her brother alone.

She passed Tim and kept on walking towards the entrance to the diner. She was almost inside when someone grabbed a hold of her arm. In an instant, she turned around and ripped her arm out of the person's hold. She turned to yell at her assailant, and glared when she realized that it had been Tim. She more that conceited smirk on his face that he had the day she had met him when she had first moved to Tulsa. That look just seemed to make her blood boil.

"What the hell do you want?" She spat resting her hands on her hips defiantly.

He laughed, running his hand over his greased hair slicking it back, "You have guts, I like that in a girl," He stated with a wink.

Em gagged but quickly regained her composure. She glared at him, her eyes shining bright blue. "Go fuck yourself," She snapped once again turning to enter the diner. However, Tim grabbed her arm again pulling back back towards him. Em growled pulling her arm away from him again.

"Tim!" Angela yelled interrupting the altercation before it could escalate any further. "Stop it!" She hissed as she stepped between Em and her brother. She stood in front of him with her hands on her hips, glaring at the older greaser. "Leave Em alone," Angela stated firmly.

Tim looked between his sister, and the girl standing behind her before cursing under his breath. He then walked away from the two girls, heading away from the diner and towards his car. Angela nodded her head towards the diner, and the two girls walked in without further incident. Em could hear Tim yelling about her from inside the restaurant, but she chose to ignore him. She looked around hoping to see someone familiar. Someone friendly. Secretly, she was hoping that Two-Bit would be there. He always seemed to be hanging around the Dingo, and Em liked hanging around him. He was always so funny. Besides, Kathy told her that Two-Bit liked to hangout there. After establishing that nothing of interest was going on inside the diner Em walked outside and starting walking towards home.

Em decided to head to the Dx before heading home. It was a decent walk, but she didn't care much. When she arrived, the first thing she did was go and look at her car. She peeked into the garage and saw that Steve was working on something underneath the hood. She smirked sensing an opportunity to be mischievous. Carefully, she stealthily made her way into garage.

Without being detected, she snuck up behind Steve. She couldn't hide the grin on her face as she tapped him on the shoulder, "Hey Steve!" She greeted cheerfully.

Steve jumped and hit his head on the hood of her car, " Fuck," He cursed covering up the injured spot with his grease covered hands.

Em laughed in victory. That had gone better than she had planned, "Sorry, but I could help myself," She said as he glared daggers at her. Em awkwardly shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans, "So how is it looking?" She asked leaning over and peeking under the hood.

Steve sighed wiping his hands off on the rag that hung out of the back pocket of his jeans,"It's coming along, but it will take a couple days to get the part you need," He stated tossing the rag down onto the mobile work bench beside him. Em rolled her eyes, a gesture that failed to go unnoticed by Steve. "You're in a great mood today aren't you ?" He stated crossing his arms over his chest.

Surprisingly, Em found herself chuckling at this, "You are so funny Steve," Em said with a hint of sarcasm. He smirked shaking his head at this. Em shrugged her jacket off of her shoulders. She placed it down on the chair behind when suddenly, Steve grabbed a hold of her wrist. She rolled her eyes in annoyance, "What the fuck Steve," She hissed ripping her hand from his hold. She had, had enough of being manhandled for one day.

"What the hell happened to your arm?" He asked his eyes lingering on her arm.

Em looked followed his gaze and was surprised to see a purplish bruise, in the shape of a hand print, was beginning to form. It hadn't felt as though he had held her that tight, but he must of. There was no other explanation. She would have noticed it before. "Tim," She stated bitterly, holding up her arm so that he could get a better look. "You know that guy is a pain in the fucking ass. I tell him no, and he's all in my face. I should sock him one," She ranted pacing the floor as she did so.

Steve nodded in understanding, "Yeah, Tim is like that when he wants something," He replied shrugging his shoulders. Em wasn't sure if it was because of his statement, or because he was stiff. Either way, she decided not to pay attention to the gesture. About a minute of silence stretched between the two teens before Steve spoke again. "So Em, when is Claire coming back?" He asked shoving his hands into his pockets mimicking her previous pose.

Em couldn't help but let out a laugh. He must be suffering bad from the Claire bug. "Don't worry Stevie, Claire will be back in a couple weeks. Man, she really got you going with that kiss didn't she?" Em asked an amused smirk creeping up onto her lips.

"No," Steve barked narrowing his eyes at her. "She just seems like fun," He added shrugging his shoulders again. This time she was sure it was because of his comment.

"Trust me, you have no idea," She stated picking up her jacket and putting it back on. She didn't want anyone else commenting on that bruise. "Anyway I'll let you get back to work," She stated earning a nod from the other greaser. She nodded back and headed out of the garage.

She hummed to herself as she walked into the store. It was surprising how quickly her mood had change. She was almost certain that it was the fact that Steve had it bad for Claire. Not that it was the first time that had happened, but not usually quite so fast. She sighed, 'Oh those Oklahoma boys,' she mused in her thoughts. She paid no attention to her surroundings as she walked to the back cooler and grabbed a coke. With it in hand, she walked up to the counter.

She placed it down pulling her wallet out of her jacket pocket without bothering to look up. "Can I get two packs of smokes as well please?" She asked pulling out a five dollar bill.

She heard a chuckled, "Sure thing Em's," Soda said opening the drawer and placing a pack of kools on the counter. Her favorite. How he knew that, she had no idea but she was happy to see a smiling face.

She couldn't help but return his infectious smile. When he smiled, it was basically impossible to resist the urge to copy him. "Hey Romeo," She greeted placing the worn bill down on the counter.

Soda chuckled picking up the money and ringing it into the till. He quickly made her change and handed it back. "So has your day gotten any better?" He asked, waving as the bell to the door went off signaling that someone else had entered the small store.

She shrugged, " It was alright until I ran into Tim and his sister," Em began popping to top off her coke.

"Well that's always fun," He remarked running a hand through his golden blonde hair.

She rolled her eyes, "Oh yeah, it was a real ball," She replied, but instantly began smiling again, "But it's gotten a bit better now," She concluded with a wink. She wasn't sure why, but Soda seemed to always put her in a good mood. It most likely just because he was pretty to look at. When you have something so appealing to the eye, it was like a bright light being added to your gray and cloudy day.

Soda laughed, "Well, I am glad to hear that," He stated nodding to her as two boys came up to pay for their own cokes.

She waved, "I'll see you later Romeo," Em called as she turned to leave the store. She didn't wait for him to reply, but she was certain he waved back. She walked outside and began the lengthy walk home. She began to think about her day, and had to think of what she would say to Erick about the bruise on her arm. It was almost impossible to hide anything from her brother. It didn't help that he had been very protective of her lately.

It took her nearly a half hour for Em to reach her house. She was tired since she woke up early and had the hot sun beating down on her all day. It was a relief. She was just heading in the door when she heard voices in the backyard. Em rolled her eyes and abandoned her original mission of going inside. Instead, she walked around the house following the origin of the voices. She wasn't surprised by what she saw. Matt and Pony were hanging out near the edge of the yard. Matt was on the balance beam, attempting to stand on top without losing his balance. However, he wasn't entirely that coordinated.

"You're going to fall," Pony stated shaking his head in disbelief.

Matt shot a glare in his friend's direction," No I'm not," He replied finally gaining his balance and standing straight. He smirked smugly, "I know what I'm doing," He added proudly as he braced himself to do a flip. He then proceeded to do a flip. His landing was a bit jittery, but he managed easily enough. He smirked smugly, "See," He countered.

Ponyboy rolled his eyes, "Yea, yeah you can do it now get down," He agreed attempting to reason with his friend.

Matt shook his head, "No way man, I can totally do a backwards one."

"Matt come on," He continued hoping to knock some sense into his friend so that he would get it through his head that he was being ridiculous. Matt shook his head and prepared himself to do a back flip off of the beam.

Em grinned mischievously once again. She couldn't help but get into mischief. It was way too much fun. Just as Matt jumped from the beam she took a deep breath, "Hey ginger!" She yelled watching as he little brother lost his concentration and moved his feet.

Instead of landing on his feet, Matt landed on his butt in mass of tangles limbs. Both Em and Ponyboy burst into laughter at the sight of Matt's shocked expression. After the shock of the botched landing wore off and he realized what happened, he glared at his sister,"Dammit Emily!" Matt cursed pushing himself up onto his feet

Em was still laughing as she made her way over to the two boys, "I'm sorry Matty," She began as her laughter subsided, "I just couldn't help myself," She admitted wiping to tears that had formed in her eyes from the excessive laughing fit.

He scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, a look of displeasure forming on his face, "Yeah right," He countered grumpily.

Em shrugged, "Besides, Pony's right, If you don't know what you're doing, then don't do it," She continued sitting down on the balance beam. "You'll hurt yourself, or other people," She continued crossing her legs.

Matt brushed off the back of his jeans, and got up and looking at her as he did so, " I'm not going to hurt myself. It's not my fault that you make it look easy," He grumbled stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Em rolled her eyes at her little brother's childish attitude. "That, my dear brother, is because I have worked hard at it for years," She stated tossing her hair over her shoulder, "I also had a couch, you don't," Em concluded jumping off of the beam. Matt just rolled his eyes at her. She walked passed her brother and kicked off her shoes. She shrugged off her jacket and dropped it on the ground next to her shoes. She then stepped up onto the beam.

She gestured for her brother to approach her. "Matt come here," She called balancing herself perfectly on the beam with seemingly no difficulty what so ever.

Matt sighed but walked over to her, "What."

"Watch what I do," She said before copying the exact moves that Matt has just preformed, but without his obvious mistakes. Instead of trying to land on the ground, she flipped so that she would land on the beam. "Now do you see what I did that you didn't?" She asked resting her hands on her hips.

Matt scoffed, "Yeah you didn't get off."

Em shook her head, "No not that," She replied sharply, glaring in annoyance at her little brother. Sometimes he could be so hot-headed.

"You tucked your arms in and let them out to balance yourself when you landed," Ponyboy stated informatively.

She looked at him in surprise, "Finally someone gets it!" She cried as she hopped down off of the balance beam.

Later on that night, after Em had prepared and cooked supper, she picked up the phone and reluctantly called Claire. She half wanted to giver her best friend a piece of her mind, and the other part already missed her company. Even though she had spent a fair share of her last day there throwing herself at Steve. She was used to that. So much so that her behavior was not surprising.

The phone rang four times before Claire's voice chimed over the receiver, "Hello," her perky and energetic tone stated.

"You're a bitch, you know that right," Em said without bothering to inform the other girl of who it was. Claire would know.

"What no hello, or how are you doing? Kinda rude don't you think Em's," Claire teased.

"Oh cut the bullshit Claire."

"Oh whatever do you mean?" She asked feigning innocence with a sickly sweet tone in her voice.

Em rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Claire, you almost wrecked my car," She almost yelled in response.

Claire sighed, "Oh relax Em's. It's not like you're not gonna be able to fix it," She continued sensing her friend's irritation. "I mean, we did make that bet with Steve and Soda," She reminded her.

"That is so not the point. I don't have a car for a couple days while they fix it," She continued a small whine in her voice. "I have to get Erick to drive to me to work in the morning now thanks to you," Em explained stressing the issue some more.

Before Em could continue, Claire interrupted, "Wait, you got a job?" Claire questioned with surprise evident in her voice. "Why?" She pressed on finding the whole idea laughable. Em just didn't work. Period.

Em scoffed, "Because I am broke now, thanks to you," She snapped sitting down on in Erick's chair, which was right next to the phone. The cord on the phone did not stretch very far.

"What do you need a job for anyway? You can just call your dad. I'm sure he'll give you money. After all, you are his only daughter," Claire chirped.

"I don't live with him anymore, and besides I'm not going to ask him for anything," She spat back.

Claire sighed, "Ok. I get it. Look Emmy, I'm really sorry. Truly, I am."

"Sure."

"But, on a lighter note," Claire began that in her predictable, cheerful manner, "Did you talk to Steve today?" She asked hopefully.

"Yeah, why?"

Claire seemed unhappy with the flatness of her friend's voice. "Well, did he say anything about me?" She prodded hoping that the answer would be a yes.

Em rolled her eyes. Typical Claire. All she ever seemed to care about were the boys. "He asked when you would be coming back," She stated looking down at her fingernails. "You really got him where you want him."

"Yes!" Claire cried happily ignoring the fact that he friend was on the other side of the reciever.

Em couldn't help but laugh at Claire's exuberance. She shook her head. "Anyway Claire, I have to go. I don't wanna be on the phone when Erick gets home. You know what he's like."

"A stick in the mud?" She chimed in a sing song tone.

Em nodded, even though her friend couldn't see. "Exactly."

"Bye Em. I'll see you in two weeks!"

Em chuckled, " See you then Claire bear," Was her retort before swiftly hanging up the phone.

Sometime later, after Ponyboy left, Em and Matt were both sitting outside on the front step. Erick hadn't returned yet, and the two siblings had grew bored and decided to wait for him. Em had a bottle of vodka with her, a fact which Matt wasn't particularly fond of. Em reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out the pack of smoke that she had picked up earlier. She opened the pack offering a cigarette to her little brother. Matt took one with a small smile. Em nodded and took a sip from the bottle of vodka.

Afterward, she wiped the remaining moisture off of her lips and then handed the bottle to Matt.

He gingerly grabbed hold of the bottle, and hesitantly took a sip. His face puckered up at the bitter taste. Matt wasn't really a drinker, especially hard liquor. "Em, why do you drink so much?" Matt asked handing the bottle back to her. He didn't understand the appeal of alcohol. It tasted horrible.

Em shrugged, "Because I can," she replied taking the bottle back.

"Emily come on, it's been a year since mom died and you promised me that you wouldn't drink as much here," He pleaded as he took the bottle away from his sister.

"C'mon Matt," She whined in annoyance. "I'm not drinking as much as I use to. Give me the bottle back," Em demanded holding her hand out expecting him to hand the bottle over.

Matt looked at the bottle, and then back to his sister, "Do you promise not to drink it all tonight?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

Em sighed, "Yes Matt, I promise. I will not drink it all tonight," She replied knowing exactly what Matt wanted to hear.

"Thanks Em."

Reluctantly, Matt handed the bottle back to her. Just as he did so Erick pulled into the driveway. Em rolled her eyes, "Great, Mister 'tries to be our dad is back,'" Em stated putting the bottle down on the front porch so that it was out of Erick's line of sight.

Matt laughed at her comment,"He's not that bad," He said in his older brother's defense. Em just rolled her eyes.

"Hey you two," Erick called as he got out of his car. "Did you have a good day?" Erick asked walking away from the car and up towards the front door.

"Nope," Em spoke up popping the p. "We had a big party," She teased, a grin spreading across her face. "While you were gone, we totally trashed the place."

Erick looked at her and shook his head at her blatant lie, "I wouldn't put it past you Em's," Erick said with a smile patting her on the shoulder. "But really, what did you two do today?"

Matt shrugged, "I was with Ponyboy all day."

"Claire fucked up my car so it's at the Dx getting fixed for the next couple days. Oh and I got a job," Em announced proudly.

"Good for you Em!" Matt encouraged happily.

Erick looked down at her in surprise. He raised an eyebrow at her, "You? You got a job?" Erick asked teasingly.

Em rolled her eyes, "Is it really that unbelievable?" she asked looking between her brothers. When no one answered she shook her head, "You guys suck," She retorted as she pushed herself up onto her feet.

Erick laughed, "That's good Em, what is it? Selling newspapers?" He teased with a small amused chuckle.

Em gasped, pretending to be annoyed. She then punched Erick in the arm,"No, I work at the thrift store," was her retort. "I start in the morning at nine, and since I don't have my car, can you drive me?"

Erick shrugged, "Sure, I don't see why not."

"Thanks big bro," Em replied brushing the dirt off of the back of her jeans.

"So what do you guys want to do now?" Erick asked his two younger siblings.

Em turned to look at Matt at the same time he had turned to look at her. The two siblings shared the same evil smile before they turned to their brother. Without further warning, they both jumped on Erick and they all started to have a wrestling match in their front yard, not caring about anything but spending some time together.

ok so i just got good news from foamy she will upload chapter 5 and 6 for me while i'm moveing thanks foamy your the best friend i could have


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